Who was the defending champion when Björn Borg first won the men's Wimbledon singles tennis title?

On July 5, 1975, in the first all-American Wimbledon final since 1947, Ashe, seeded sixth and just a few days short of his 32nd birthday, won Wimbledon at his ninth attempt, defeating the overwhelming favourite and defending champion, Jimmy Connors. Ashe was the defending champion in the 1976 Wimbledon Championships, but lost in the fourth round to Vitas Gerulaitis.

Björn Borg defeated Ilie Năstase in the final, 6–4, 6–2, 9–7 to win the Gentlemen's Singles tennis title at the 1976 Wimbledon Championships. Borg was the first man in the open era to win a Wimbledon singles title without dropping a set. Borg also became the youngest male Wimbledon champion of the modern era at 20 years and 1 month (a record subsequently broken by Boris Becker, who won Wimbledon aged 17 in 1985).