On This Day: From 'crowning' Bjorn Borg to Tiger Woods' comeback

A fan put a crown on the head of Swedish tennis great Bjorn Borg after his loss against in Nice, while Ryan Giggs scored the winning goal in the FA Cup semifinal.

Published : Apr 14, 2020 07:26 IST

A fan puts a crown on the head of Bjorn Borg.
A fan puts a crown on the head of Bjorn Borg.
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A fan puts a crown on the head of Bjorn Borg.

With the live sporting action around the world forced to go on an indefinite hiatus due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, here's a blast from the past and a chance to re-live some of the most memorable moments on this day.

RUGBY - 1973

April 14, 1973 was the day on which an anomaly in the long and storied history of the Five and Six Nations was secured.

A tournament that saw all five teams struggle for consistency came to a close in Dublin. France had the championship in their sights after seeing off defending champions Wales in their previous encounter.

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That victory left them as the only team capable of winning the title outright. Triumph at Lansdowne Road was needed to seal it but, in extremely windy conditions, inaccuracy from the tee cost them.

France missed three penalties and a conversion as Ireland claimed a 6-4 win that ensured every team finished on four points. The lack of a tiebreaker meant there could be no outright winner, with all five teams claiming a share of the championship. Had there been a points difference tiebreaker, Wales would have again prevailed.

TENNIS - 1992

A fan puts a crown on the head of Swedish tennis great Bjorn Borg after his loss against France's Olivier Delaitre in Nice.

Borg, who won six French Open titles and Wimbledon five times between 1974-1981, retired in 1983 before attempting to make comebacks in the early 1990s.

Although he was not successful, his legacy remained intact and he was a hit with the fans who turned up to watch him play.

FOOTBALL - 1999

Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs scores his winning goal past Arsenal captain Tony Adams in a 2-1 victory in the FA Cup semifinal.

Pouncing on a loose Arsenal pass in his own half, Giggs embarked on a solo run that saw him beat four defenders before firing the ball past the goalkeeper to win the game for 10-man United.

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FILE PHOTO: ON THIS DAY -- April 14 April 14, 1999 SOCCER - Manchester United winger Ryan Giggs scores his winning goal past Arsenal captain Tony Adams in a 2-1 victory in the FA Cup semi-final. Pouncing on a loose Arsenal pass in his own half, Giggs embarked on a solo run that saw him beat four defenders before firing the ball past the goalkeeper to win the game for 10-man United. United won the famous treble that year and Giggs' run was immortalised by the famous chant "Giggs will tear you apart again" by the United faithful. REUTERS/Ian Hodgson/File photo
 

United won the famous treble that year and Giggs' run was immortalised by the famous chant “Giggs will tear you apart again” by the United faithful.

TRIATHLON - 2000

Nick Martin, Sydney's World Cup Triathlon Dive Leader, swims near the triathlon course whilst wearing a Shark POD (Protective Ocean Device) on his back in Sydney Harbour.

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FILE PHOTO: ON THIS DAY -- April 14 April 14, 2000 TRIATHLON - Nick Martin, Sydney's World Cup Triathlon Dive Leader, swims near the triathlon course whilst wearing a Shark POD (Protective Ocean Device) on his back in Sydney Harbour. Overseas Olympics competitors were worried about shark attacks during the swim leg of the triathlon after a spate of sightings in the harbour and organisers decided to deploy dive teams to ease their fears. A Shark POD's functionality is to scare sharks away by messing with their senses and an underwater diver armed with one of the devices also accompanied the triathletes during the 1.5 kilometre swim leg. REUTERS/David Gray/File photo
 

Overseas Olympics competitors were worried about shark attacks during the swim leg of the triathlon after a spate of sightings in the harbour and organisers decided to deploy dive teams to ease their fears.

A Shark POD's functionality is to scare sharks away by messing with their senses and an underwater diver armed with one of the devices also accompanied the triathletes during the 1.5 kilometre swim leg.

FOOTBALL - 2001

West Ham United midfielder Frank Lampard celebrates with his teammates after scoring the second goal in a 3-1 Premier League victory over Derby County at Upton Park.

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FILE PHOTO: ON THIS DAY -- April 14 April 14, 2001 SOCCER - West Ham United midfielder Frank Lampard celebrates with his team mates after scoring the second goal in a 3-1 Premier League victory over Derby County at Upton Park. Lampard spent his youth career and early years at West Ham before earning a 11 million pounds ($13.63 million) move to Chelsea later that year -- where he won three league titles, four FA Cups and a Champions League trophy. Lampard, who is Chelsea's top goal scorer with 211 goals, retired in 2016 after a 21-year career. He got his feet wet in management with Derby County in the second tier before taking up the role at Chelsea in 2019. Action Images via Reuters/File photo
 

Lampard spent his youth career and early years at West Ham before earning a 11 million pounds ($13.63 million) move to Chelsea later that year -- where he won three league titles, four FA Cups and a Champions League trophy.

Lampard, who is Chelsea's top goal scorer with 211 goals, retired in 2016 after a 21-year career. He got his feet wet in management with Derby County in the second tier before taking up the role at Chelsea in 2019.

RUGBY - 2001

Leicester Tigers celebrate winning the English Premiership title for the third year in a row and their fifth title overall.

The 2000-01 season was the first campaign that had the new bonus points scoring system introduced to encourage more attacking play and Tigers won the title by eight points.

It would go on to win the knockout Championship a month later, beating Bath 22-10 in the final.

FOOTBALL - 2002

AS Roma's Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Cannavaro of Parma challenge for the ball during their Serie A clash at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.

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FILE PHOTO: ON THIS DAY -- April 14 April 14, 2002 SOCCER - AS Roma's Gabriel Batistuta and Fabio Cannavaro of Parma challenge for the ball during their Serie A clash at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. Batistuta was accidentally kicked in the face as they challenged for the ball and Cannavaro immediately signalled to the bench for the medic to treat the injured striker, who had to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher after receiving treatment. Argentina held its breath, nervous that their then-top goal scorer would miss the 2002 World Cup, but he made a recovery and was picked in the squad. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File photo
 

Batistuta was accidentally kicked in the face as they challenged for the ball and Cannavaro immediately signalled to the bench for the medic to treat the injured striker, who had to be taken off the pitch on a stretcher after receiving treatment.

Argentina held its breath, nervous that its then-top goal scorer would miss the 2002 World Cup, but he made a recovery and was picked in the squad.

BASEBALL - 2005

U.S. President George Bush throws out the first pitch for the home opener for the Washington Nationals at its temporary home in RFK Stadium in Washington.

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FILE PHOTO: ON THIS DAY -- April 14 April 14, 2005 BASEBALL - U.S. President George Bush throws out the first pitch for the home opener for the Washington Nationals at their temporary home in RFK Stadium in Washington. The Nationals, originally the Montreal Expos who moved to Washington, were the first major league franchise to be based in the capital city since 1971. However, there was resistance from civic leaders who were worried the city could not afford its pledge to help build a new stadium -- Nationals Park -- which opened in 2008 at a cost of over $700 million. REUTERS/Gary Cameron/File photo
 

The Nationals, originally the Montreal Expos who moved to Washington, was the first major league franchise to be based in the capital city since 1971.

However, there was resistance from civic leaders who were worried the city could not afford its pledge to help build a new stadium -- Nationals Park -- which opened in 2008 at a cost of over $700 million.

BOXING - 2007

Uzbek challenger Ruslan Chagaev and Nikolai Valuev exchange punches during their World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title bout in Stuttgart.

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FILE PHOTO: ON THIS DAY -- April 14 April 14, 2007 BOXING - Uzbek challenger Ruslan Chagaev and Nikolai Valuev exchange punches during their World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title bout in Stuttgart. Chagaev upset the odds to beat the taller and heavier defending champion Valuev by a majority decision after going the distance in the 12-round fight. "Before the fight everybody said that Nikolai is too tall for me to have a chance. Well, I'm smaller but I have the sting," Chagaev said after improving to 23-0-1 with 17 knockouts. REUTERS/Michael Dalder/File photo
 

Chagaev upset the odds to beat the taller and heavier defending champion Valuev by a majority decision after going the distance in the 12-round fight.

“Before the fight everybody said that Nikolai is too tall for me to have a chance. Well, I'm smaller but I have the sting,” Chagaev said after improving to 23-0-1 with 17 knockouts.

TENNIS - 2016

At the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco, second seed Andy Murray dropped the opening set in the third round encounter but came back to win 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 to advance. Murray fell in the semifinals, losing to Rafa Nadal in three sets.

However, Murray would go on to win Wimbledon as well as the Olympic gold in Rio that year to surge ahead in the rankings, eventually becoming the first British man to become world number one.

FOOTBALL - 2016

Six months on from taking over at Liverpool, Klopp was reunited with the club where he made his name in the Europa League quarter-finals.

The last-eight tie with Borussia Dortmund was finely poised after a 1-1 draw at Signal Iduna Park.

It was Dortmund that appeared poised to progress to the semifinals, though, as Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave it a 2-0 lead.

Divock Origi pulled one back for Liverpool three minutes into the second half but Marco Reus looked to have put the tie beyond doubt, his effort leaving the Reds needing three goals to progress.

However, a rasping low drive from Philippe Coutinho gave Anfield hope and Mamadou Sakho's close-range header in the 77th minute set the stage for a grandstand finish. Dejan Lovren proved the unlikely hero as he towered to turn home James Milner's cross in the 91st minute.

Liverpool went on to defeat Villarreal in the semifinals but was denied in the showpiece in Basel as Sevilla claimed a 3-1 win.

GOLF - 2019

One of sport's greatest comeback stories was completed on this day at Augusta last year.

Most had doubted whether Tiger Woods would ever recapture the form that saw him win 14 majors after his well-documented back problems.

Yet, the closest challenger to Jack Nicklaus' major record of 18 inched one closer with the kind of performance many considered consigned to history to win his fifth green jacket.

Woods began the final day two strokes behind Francesco Molinari, but a captivating final day tilted firmly in his favour on the 15th.

Molinari sent his tee shot into the trees and then found the water with a misplaced lay-up, eventually making double bogey.

Woods, by contrast, birdied from two feet to take the outright lead, with a sensational tee shot at 16 leaving him a short putt for a two-stroke advantage.

He made par at 17 to ensure a bogey would be enough on the last, and there would be no last-gasp slip-up, Woods standing on the 18th green with his arms aloft in celebration of a triumph few thought possible.

(With inputs from OPTA)

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