Jeff Borowiak born on September 25, 1949, in Berkeley, California, United States. Jeffrey Borowiak arrived in Cologne for his first tournament as a World Championship Tennis pro, looking very much like a 23-year-old kid from Berkeley, which he is. Jeff Borowiak is also an outstanding musician, having mastered the flute and piano.
Fans wondered who the tall, handsome, long-haired guy in jeans and a UCLA sweatshirt was, and they quickly found out. Despite a sore foot inflamed by wearing sandals in the cold and drizzly weather, Jeff went all the way to the final before losing to fellow Californian Bob Lutz. It was a remarkable debut by an amazing guy—bright, sensitive, articulate, introspective, and multi-talented.
A refreshing personality, Jeff amazed several players that week with a lengthy and learned comparison between Ken Rosewall’s tennis and the music of Bach. He also surprised a maître’ or two along the rest of the circuit by arriving at dining rooms with his own breakfast foods, health cereals, familiar and granola, plus molasses and honey, so that all he needed was hot water and milk. That was part of Jeff’s current all-out effort to see how far he can go in tennis by eating right, practicing and training hard, and learning as much as he can from his fellow pros.
Jeff Borowiak has always learned through observation and practice. His late father, who died in 1967, the year Jeff won the National Junior Championship, was a great believer in lessons, so as a youngster he studied piano and flute (three hours a day until he was 14), tennis, swimming, all sorts of things.
He is a fine natural athlete, with a body as nimble as his mind, who played many sports before focusing his touch on a tennis racket and pool cue. Jeff is also very much a product of the Berkeley scene. A perceptive, philosophical fellow, he likes to talk about things and analyze them, understanding what can be understood, appreciating what can’t be, and experiencing everything.
He went to UCLA for four years, winning the National Intercollegiates in 1970, but dropped out when his tennis eligibility expired because he “didn’t feel like booking it” and thought many required courses didn’t relate to today. Later, he was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s (ITA) Hall of Fame. Now he’s traveling the world accompanied by a tape recorder that wakes him up with Bach, Beethoven. The Beatles—keeping all his senses open to what he does think is relevant and brightening the circuit for everybody with his keen and lively intellect.
At the end of his career, Jeff Borowiak won five singles and three doubles titles during his professional career, reaching a career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 20 in August 1977. In 1981, Borowiak was named the ATP Comeback Player of the Year.
Read More: Bill Tilden: The Greatest Tennis Player
