José’s rackets were singing for Bjorn Borg
By Michel Guilluy, TC Waltzing, March 2010
The following anecdote is an excerpt of a book “The Donnay centenary - the Black Water legend” which is in preparation for 2 years now. It will be issued in English and French in September 2011 or September 2012. Please send any indication of interest or any useful information on the Belgian tennis brand to the following email address : fa333161°skynet.be.
Bjorn Borg used to prepare his matches meticulously just as his own coach, Lennart Bergelin, did. This was part of a ritual which was essential to the player’s mental preparation and, more generally, which helped him focus on tennis. This also explained why Bjorn Borg imposed a multitude of frame specifications on Donnay. Realising that Bjorn Borg was no easy man to please, André Donnay and Guy Pignolet carefully selected a qualified worker who would be extremely rigorous and committed, given the responsibilities Donnay was about to take on. Quite surprisingly, they chose a young and relatively inexperienced carpenter by the name of José Thiry. José, who was 24 years old at the time, was very tall (by Couvin standards!) standing at 1 metre 80 and André Donnay used to call him “Tall Boy”. José quickly gained the recognition of the Donnay family, for he was regularly doing woodwork for them, after working hours, and even acted as their private driver at times.
José therefore started to customise Bjorn Borg’s rackets in 1975. Two series of 400 frames were produced annually according to Bjorn’s specifications of wood quality, weight (415gr), length and balance. These frames had to be reinforced by adding one additional ply of wood to cope with the extreme string tension of 28/35 kg. Out of the special issue, José would typically select the best 25 rackets which would then be stored for six months before delivery. Bjorn Borg realised that, like special Belgian beers, wood is a living material that delivers its best mechanical performance after a complete drying period.
José exercised the greatest care when he applied the English Fairway branded grip. José carefully selected the 1.7 mm leather grip width. Two grips were then applied side by side along a 4 5/8 handle up to 25 cm (1) This was a particularly painful exercise, as the leather had to be stretched tightly to provide Bjorn Borg with the ideal grip size. Over time, José’s index finger got deformed and a lump grew on the joint of one of his fingers.
Alone in his workshop, José admits that his first years on the job were quite stressful. Over time, José's confidence grew as did the friendly visits from Bjorn Borg and other eminent guests who used to end their tour of the Donnay facilities with a trip to José’s sanctuary. Bjorn Borg’s trust in José soon became part and parcel of the Donnay service, so much so that Donnay management did not see the point in organising a cover service. José’s devotion meant that he had to be available at any time, even during weekends and holidays.
Bjorn Borg’s attention to details is best described in a few anecdotes. In June 1979, some rackets were shipped to a hotel where Bjorn Borg was staying in the USA. As soon as he had the rackets in his hands, Bjorn Borg realised that they were too heavy, weighing 418 grams instead of the prescribed 415gr. Panic spread to Donnay’s management and José got flying instructions for an on-site intervention. Suspecting humidity due to insufficient packaging and fully confident in the quality of his work, José recommended from his sanctuary office that the frames should go on a diet and be put on a radiator to get rid of the excess humidity. Lennart called the next day with the news that the diet had been a success.
The following year, José was called out to Wimbledon to provide his services. Bjorn was horrified by the feel of the grip in his hands. José realised that the Fairway grip had swollen, increasing the width by 1 mm and simply replaced the grips. Stricter quality requirements were later imposed on the UK grip provider.
One day, José and some of his Donnay colleagues were attending a tennis exhibition in Liège. All of a sudden, the crowd got struck by Bjorn Borg’s racket, which had exploded as a result of the combination between the power of the stroke and the heavy string tension. José’s colleagues all looked bewildered at him and they soon burst into laughter. Today, José still vividly remembers the following days and weeks of private jokes which followed.
Bjorn Borg’s ritual during the Wimbledon tournament best reflects the extreme care he took in preparing himself mentally and in ensuring his equipment was in the best condition (2). This meant that all the environmental parameters had to be reproduced exactly to obtain the ideal brain conditioning. For instance, Bjorn Borg would always set the air conditioning to 12 degrees or always go on a diet to make sure he did not weigh more than 73 kg. Two days before the tournament, Lennart would make sure Bjorn Borg received a two-hour massage sessionOn the day before the tournament, Bjorn Borg would turn into a musician and complete a two-to-three hour percussion exercise, setting his 50 rackets in front of him in very much the same way as a xylophone player would prepare for a concert. A racket in each hand, Bjorn Borg would then test the slightest variation in the strings’ notes. He would then methodically display the 50 rackets on the floor according to their notes. On every match day, he would pick up his usual six rackets. Sometimes, a highly strung gut would snap in the middle of the night as an unexpected echo to the earlier concert. However, these singing rackets could not wake such a relaxed tennis virtuoso.
