Bjorn Borg insists he had zero hard feelings about Rafael Nadal breaking his all-time French Open record as the Swedish tennis icon claims he believed that one day someone would come and do better than him at Roland Garros.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Swede was an absolutely dominant force at the French Open, winning the lone clay Grand Slam six times between 1974 and 1981.
And for the next three decades, those six titles stood as the all-time record at Roland Garros. But then, Nadal came on the scene and in 2012 officially became the all-time French Open recorder after sealing his seventh main glory in Paris.
Since then, the Spaniard has added seven more French Open trophies to his collection.
“No, not at all. Many people said at the time that probably no one would break my record. I said: ‘Records are there to be broken.’ That is an important aspect in sport. And then Rafa comes along and wins 14 times. You will never see another player who is so good on clay,” Borg told Tennis Magazin when asked if he “suffered” when Nadal broke his record at the Parisian Major.
Rafael Nadal© YouTube screenshot
Borg recalls his first meeting with Nadal
When the Spaniard was just 17, he made his debut at the Swedish ATP 250 tournament in Bastad. Back then, the Swedish tennis legend was also there and he heard people talking about the now 22-time Major winner as the next big thing in tennis.
“The first time was in Bastad about 20 years ago. Even then, many people said that he would be a great champion. I did too, by the way. It was the first time I saw him play tennis. I only came into contact with him later,” Borg recounted.
In recent years, the two met several times during the Laver Cup weekend. But this week, Nadal won’t be coached by Borg at Team Europe after he withdrew from the Laver Cup in Berlin.