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Biofile Classic: Jonas Bjorkman Interview
11 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
Note: This Biofile was done at the US Open in 1994.
Status: Current coach of Andy Murray. Former #4 ATP singles player, and #1 ATP doubles player. Won six singles titles and 54 doubles titles, including nine major doubles titles. Retired in 2008 after World Tour Finals.
DOB: March 23, 1972 In: Alvesta, Sweden
Residence: Monte Carlo, Monaco
Childhood Heroes: “That’s a good question. Definitely Mats Wilander. He’s from the same club as me. I was like six when he won the French Open. He’s a good friend of my dad (Laus).”
Hobbies/Interests: “Golf, hockey, all sports, music, dancing.”
Nicknames: “Bjosse – from the guys. For everything being neat and perfect in my tennis bag [smiles].”
Childhood Dreams: “My dream was to be number one in tennis. Win Davis Cup for Sweden.”
Early Tennis Memory: “When I was twelve, Mats Wilander and the guys beat the US, McEnroe and Connors in Sweden in ’84 Davis Cup. After seeing that on TV we were going out in the street and playing. That was really special as a kid. And when I won my first tournament (age 8). Alvesta Club Championship back home. Played a guy two years older. I was the underdog. Always liked to win.”
Greatest Sports Moment: “That would be as a team. Davis Cup victory for Sweden (’94 vs. Russia). I was so happy playing for my country. We clinched it in the doubles in five sets (vs. Kafelnikov/Ohlovskiy). And winning doubles world championship in Jakarta, Indonesia (’94). Beat the Woodies.”
Most Painful Moment: “[Smiles]. Lost to (Alberto) Berasategui in Cincinnati (’94), was up 5-1 in third and lost 7-5.”
Pre-Match Feeling: “I’m trying to prepare for the match. Put some wraps on my racquet, prepare for the match. Think of the guy I’ll be playing, his weapons. Think of how I can build up my game to make his weapons worse. (Visualize?) Could be on the court that I visualize, a lot of people, hitting big shots in front of a lot of people.”
Closest Tennis Friends: “Swedes, Eltingh, Haarhuis, Rafter, Apell.”
Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Sampras – the toughest one to beat. Even if you know he’s having a bad day, you need more than that to beat him.”
Favorite Athletes To Watch: “Yannick Noah. People who show some feeling on the court. Agassi is always good to see. People come to watch tennis, you have to give something back. They always give you support back. It helps you out. That’s what I love about American fans. If you’re getting tired, you don’t feel good, they get you pumped. I’m very interested in sports. Two or three times a week my dad sends me faxes about sports in Sweden.”
Favorite Movies: “Harrison Ford, The Fugitive, Die Hard, Dumb & Dumber.”
Interesting Fact(s): If I go out I like to dance. I like to dance a lot. To all different kinds of music. My dad was a drummer in a band. And maybe I’m not the best to be on time. I’m two or three minutes late all the time [smiles].”
People Qualities Most Admired: “Like I said, when I was a kid my idol was Wilander. I met Stefan (Edberg) when I was seventeen for the first time. I got a chance to practice with him when he was number one. I did a good job, practiced my ass off with him. I looked up to him…so serious. I’ve always been looking up to him. If you want to be good you have to be really serious, practice a lot.”
Career Accomplishments: Winner of nine major doubles titles – three Australian, two French, three Wimbledon and one US Open; Earned $14,600,323 in career prize money; career singles record of 414-362, career doubles record of 709-306.
Jonas likes to see "feeling on the court."
Scoop Malinowski · June 15, 2015 at 9:53 pm
My standout memories of Jonas Bjorkman are his night match win on Armstrong when he crushed Edberg like 63 63 63. Edberg may have been defending champ but he looked helpless that night, Bjorkman was electrifying. He played with those loose strings and hit the ball so flat and hard. And the flashes of emotion he showed on court, the fist pumps and the foot step gesture after winning a big match. Such an intense but respectful competitor. Also the story that Bjorkman was not a highly regarded young Swede player, and was kind of the odd man out, but he persevered and proved all the doubters wrong by achieving a, IMO, Hall of Fame worthy career.
Dan Markowitz · June 16, 2015 at 2:19 am
Lost a lot of respect for Bjorkman when he lost to Vince at the Open. Bjorkman was seeded, maybe he was dealing with an injury, but Vince played great and there was big crowd there. I remember Rich Pagliaro was watching, and afterward, when I talked to Bjorkman, he dissed Vince, intimating he had no class and would never have beaten him if he wasn’t injured. That’s how I remember it anyway.
Other than that, I always liked how Bjorkman went about his business. And talked to him in Player’s Lounge after his career had ended, and he was cool, friendly.
EddietheEagle · June 16, 2015 at 5:00 pm
He reached ATP 4 in singles (I think) but to me, he’s a good example of a player who extended his playing career to the max by evolving to become a top-ranked doubles player.
Scoop Malinowski · June 16, 2015 at 8:26 pm
Nine majors and number one in the world in doubles is remarkable accomplishment. And No. 4 in singles is quite a nice balance of huge success in both doubles and singles. I can’t think another player who achieved such success in both singles and doubles, Bjorkman might just be the overall most versatile player in singles and doubles, since McEnroe.
Thomas Tung · June 16, 2015 at 9:15 pm
Everyone always forgets Yevgeny Kafelnikov, #1 in singles and #4 in doubles, 2 GS wins in singles and 4 GS wins in doubles, an Olympic Gold Medal in Sydney 2000 (beat Philippoussis, Kuerten, Haas in the finals in 5 sets). 26 singles titles, 27 doubles titles. Won RG 1996 in both singles and doubles that year. QF or better results in all Slams, singles or doubles. He was a lot more versatile than Bjorkman for both singles and doubles, no question about it. Problem with Yevgeny? (points to Kalashnikov’s head) … strangely enough, not a single Masters Series event to his name …
Thomas Tung · June 16, 2015 at 9:17 pm
Also, played more matches than anyone in the ATP Top 100 (counting both singles and doubles) for something like 6 out of 7 years (beaten in 1997 or 1998? by Bjorkman in that stat). I always liked Jonas, felt that he overachieved big time in making it into the top 10, but also felt that he was much more underrated than he should’ve been (especially by Cliff Drysdale).
Thomas Tung · June 16, 2015 at 9:20 pm
Jonas seemed to me to be a Top 20-Top 50 type guy, very glad he proved me wrong.
Scoop Malinowski · June 16, 2015 at 9:32 pm
Mind blanked TT, thanks for the speedy correction 🙂 I even just emailed Steve Flink earlier today and one of things I mentioned was how Pierce and Kafel need to be inducted next year. Absolutely right bad oversight by me, Kafel is one of the best singles and doubles players ever. How he is not in the Hall of Fame yet is an injustice.
Scoop Malinowski · June 16, 2015 at 9:37 pm
Good points Thomas, Bjorkman was a relevant and competitive player in singles and doubles for many years but despite his success he never did seem to get the respect he earned. He had a cool style of play and a colorful personality on the court. Tennis needs more Bjorkmans. It will be interesting to see how he impacts Murray as a coach, as a great singles and doubles player, you have to think he has some good ideas on how to take Murray to the next level.
EddietheEagle · June 22, 2015 at 6:10 am
Looks like he’s performing as a coach too now, what with Murray picking up the Queens title for the fourth time this weekend. What next, Wimbledon?
Scoop Malinowski · June 22, 2015 at 7:52 am
A lot of people don’t remember how close Bjorkman was to making the US Open finals in 97, he was up two sets to one on Rusedski and lost 57 in the fifth to the big lefty Greg from Canada. And yes Eddie, it does look like he’s making a quick impact on Murray. We now Murray has the defense, if Bjorkman can inject some flat attacking shots into Murray’s arsenal, imagine the havoc he could impart on the ATP Tour.