Before Rafael Nadal became a legend of the sport, Bjorn Borg was widely considered as the greatest clay player of all time, but he’s not bothered by the Spaniard overtaking him in that regard.
Being a professional tennis player, especially one that has reached legendary status, means that an athlete thrives in competition and just loves that part of it. It’s difficult to rise above other people unless someone is really obsessed and dedicated to it.
At his time, Borg truly was dedicated, and he was much better than the rest. He did eventually retire from the sport at an early age to the detriment of the potential legacy he could have left in tennis, but for many years he was still considered the greatest clay player of all time.
That changed when Nadal came into the sport and demonstrated very early how impossibly good he was on the surface. Eventually, Nadal overtook Borg in all respects, including how many times he won Roland Garros and just broke his record, but Borg was never really bothered by it.
While he was a stellar competitor, the way he cut short his tennis career is probably enough to indicate that he was not obsessed with legacy that much.
He was asked about it once more ahead of this year’s Laver Cup, and he admitted that he’s not bothered by Nadal’s clay dominance because records are there to be broken. He wants to see the sport moving forward and records being broken, and the legendary Swede is even unsure whether we’ll see a player as good as Nadal was on clay.
“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’s and Nadal’s careers share some parallels, particularly in how both achieved great success at a very young age, hinting early on that they were destined to become legendary players.
Borg recalled the first time he saw Nadal play in person over 20 years ago in Bastad. Even then, it was immediately clear to Borg that Nadal had the potential to be extraordinary.
“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.”
He could see from Nadal’s demeanor on the court that he would excel for many years. Nadal has exceeded expectations, becoming more successful than anyone could have anticipated, and that’s the beauty of tennis.
Few thought someone would surpass Borg, yet it happened. Few believed anyone could outplay Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, yet Novak Djokovic did. The future of tennis is always full of possibilities, and no matter how crazy an outcome it seems, it could technically happen.
