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.