Jeff Borowiak is one of the lesser known names in tennis, but his dedication to the sport and his personality certainly made him a player to be remembered by many loyal tennis fans. Born on September 25th, in 1949, Borowiak built his form by playing tennis for the greatest collegiate sports team of his time - UCLA Brunis. He was the number one singles player there, while Haroon Rahim played at second and Jimmy Connors playing at number three position.
Borowiak’s professional tour on the ATP circuit was a relatively short one. He was present on the tour for just 10 years, during which time he won five singles titles and three doubles. His best year was 1977, when he won three singles titles in Dayton, Gstaad and Toronto. His run in the last one was quite impressive, given that he was the 12th seed there and having benefited from a series of upsets, he paved his way to the final.
| Born | 25 Sep 1949 |
| Nationality |
United States
|
In order to practice his weak backhand, Borowiak would strap weight to his strings and then practice. This helped him improve his volley shots and he eventually moved on to practice this technique with other players as well. He reached his career high singles ranking in 1977 August, at the World no. 20. In 1981, he won the ATP Comeback Player of the Year after emerging as the runner-up in ATP Tampa and Johannesburg. His best run in the Grand Slams came in Wimbledon and Australian Open, where he reached the fourth round.
Another interesting thing about Borowiak is his openness for other things. Simply put, he had a keen interest in music as well, which he shared with a fellow Danish tennis player and musician Torben Ulrich. Despite having a massive age difference, both the players were united by the love for music. In fact Jeff came to be involved, indirectly, in the formation of the band Metallica. Torben’s son, Lars, formed a band known as ‘Lars Rocket’, in which Borowiak invested. With time, it moved on to become the heavy metal band which gained huge success around the world.
Borowiak now lives in Seattle, Washington, working on a book and teaching tennis on the side. He also spends his days meditating. Aside from tennis, Borowiak is also good in music. The former tennis player is an accomplished musician and is skilled in the flute and in playing the piano. He considers Torben Ulrich (father of Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich) a good friend and mentor.
