Bjorn Borg, resuming a comeback he started a year ago, struggled before beating fellow Swede Peter Svensson 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 on Tuesday in a first-round match of the River Oaks International tournament.
Borg, 35, broke his opponent's serve in the fifth and seventh games of the first set but fell behind 1-4 in the second set and eventually lost a tie-breaker. He took command in the final set when he broke Svensson in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead.Borg served twice for the match in the second set but was broken both times. Leading 5-4, Borg was broken in the 10th game on a forehand winner by Svensson. Borg broke Svensson in the 11th game but Svensson broke back in the 12th game to force the tie-breaker.
"I was satisfied with the match," Borg said. "Every point and every match I play in a tournament is good for me. I just need to get out there and hit that tennis ball."
Borg made a good impression on Svensson.
"He is the reason that I started playing tennis," Svensson said. "It was very difficult to play him. He's been my idol always growing up."
Borg won 11 Grand Slam events, including five consecutive Wimbledon titles, before retiring in 1981. He attempted a comeback at Monte Carlo a year ago but was beaten in the first round.
He almost faced a similar fate against Svensson.
In the third set, Borg faced a break point in the third game but came back to hold serve, then broke Svensson in the fourth game on Svensson's backhand error to take a 3-1 lead.
Borg took a 40-15 lead in the final game, double-faulted once and then won on the second match point with a forehand volley winner.
"Maybe he doesn't hit as hard as he used to but I think he'll improve as he plays more," Svensson said. "He just doesn't miss anything. He still runs down everything."