Found a great article on my favorite old skool players Borg..he talks his career & Rafa winning the French Open, below are quotes on Rafa the entire article is at the link.. Enjoy!


Borg Roots for Nadal to Join Him as New Rival Arises - NYTIMES

“I always have said that records are meant to be beat, not only in tennis but in all sports,” Borg, now 54, said in a recent telephone interview from his home in Stockholm. “I wish Rafa the best of luck. It would be great to see him win the sixth time or seven or eight times.

“I believe he has more French Opens inside of him, but now he has another difficult guy, another kind of challenge. It’s not only from Roger Federer and other good players. Another guy has suddenly started to play unbelievable tennis like no one expected. But that’s great for tennis. It’s rivalries, more people at the top, that’s what everybody wants to see.”

“I said this guy is going to be unbelievably good, and I don’t think there was even one person who disagreed,” Borg said. “When you saw him with the way he was playing and moving and the way he was hitting the ball on the court and with that energy. You could see it in his eyes and the face: This guy wants to be the best in the world.”

“I believe Rafa would have adjusted to Borg’s era and I believe Borg would have adjusted to this one,” Higueras said. “But obviously I think it was a lot more challenging playing with a wooden racket with a very small sweet spot. I believe that to be a good tennis player today is a lot easier just because of the equipment. Your technique does not have to be as precise.”

“Now everybody is talking to me about Rafa,” Borg said, laughing. “It’s nice, nice to be remembered, nice to talk about something I won quite a few times. Now it’s another guy who has a chance to win the same or more times. It’s just great to be part of the group, if you understand what I mean.”

But it is on clay that Nadal, like Borg, has done his most overpowering work. Nadal has won 31 of his 45 career titles on clay; Borg 30 of his 63. They are a study in contrasts and commonalities. Nadal is an exuberant, injury-prone left-hander from the Spanish island of Majorca who sweats plenty and covers the court like an action film star. Borg was a cool, poker-faced right-hander from Sweden who — rather like Federer — moved more elegantly than menacingly to the ball.

But this year Nadal has to worry about another man. Borg, who has watched Djokovic beat Nadal in their four matches this year, believes the two will also face off in the final at Roland Garros and has made tentative plans to come for the last two rounds.

Bjorn Borg during the 1980 French Open. Borg won six titles in eight years at Roland Garros.