Bellevue Tennis Pro Once Beat Wimbledon Champ

The man on the television screen, holding up the shining plate, was Stefan Edberg, Wimbledon champion. The man in front of the television screen was Jeff Borowiak, who once beat this year's Wimbledon champion.

Third round of the Australian Open, 1983: Borowiak eliminated an 18-year-old Edberg, who for the first time was playing in the open draw of a Grand Slam tournament. Last Sunday, Borowiak just watched, like a million others who might only dream of playing that well.

``I had some days I was hot, and some days I was cold,'' said Borowiak, a tennis pro at the Bellevue Athletic Club. ``A lot of times I was cold. Guys like Edberg are continuously hot.''

Borowiak was hot enough to be ranked No. 20 in the world in 1977. Hot enough to have beaten the likes of Rod Laver, Ken Rosewell, John Newcombe, Vitas Gerulaitis, Roscoe Tanner, Stan Smith, Vijay Armitraj, Jimmy Connors, Arthur Ashe and the man whose middle name is Wimbledon, Bjorn Borg.

Borowiak, 40, beat Borg twice. The first time was in the quarterfinals of the WCT Championship of 1976, the same year Borg won the first of his record five consecutive Wimbledon championships. Borowiak beat him again in 1978.

To the kids Borowiak teaches at the Bellevue Athletic Club, he is somewhat misplaced in time. Most of these kids do not remember who he was. Borowiak is not of this generation of players. Jimmy Connors is his contemporary.

``It's quite something to be able to learn from someone who got to play with all those big names,'' said one of his students, Jubal Masterson, 16, of Bellevue.

Borowiak, originally from California, has been a teacher since his retirement from the professional tour in 1984. He came to the BAC two months ago, from Pacific West in Federal Way. His primary job at Bellevue is to run the club's junior program.

Borowiak said the transition from player to teacher came easy because he was used to practicing with other pros in an instructional role. Attached to his resume is a letter of recommendation from one of his former practice partners, Brad Gilbert, currently ranked No. 5 in the world.

For a while, the tour life was the only life for Borowiak. He remembers early in his career winning a tournament in Gstaad, Switzerland, and in the days that followed his victory, listening to five consecutive days of jazz at the Montreux Jazz Festival.

``I was at the beach during the day and listening to wonderful music at night,'' said Borowiak, a fervent jazz fan. ``That was the life.''

Borowiak said he has no regrets about his playing days but feels ``mystified on some aspects'' of his game. He doesn't understand his ups and downs, why he owned a player one day and couldn't get a shot off him the next.

Borowiak had immediate success on the pro tour. In his professional debut, he reached the final of the World Championship Tournament in Cologne, West Germany, two years after he won the NCAA singles championship at UCLA. Before he left school, he won an NCAA doubles title. In the years to follow, a classmate named Jimmy Connors would follow in Borowiak's footsteps and win his own NCAA singles title. Before Borowiak left the tour, he beat Connors four times.

Borowiak is quick to admit that few others could endure as long as Connors has. Borowiak had one major injury during his career. In 1980 he underwent shoulder surgery that took him off the tour for a year. He returned with no ranking, but eventually won enough matches to break into the top 60. The Association of Tennis Professionals named him the ``comeback player of the year.''

For now, Borowiak is content to watch others play the game as he once did. He is just as happy to listen to his jazz and teach his kids.