The toughest possible opposition awaits Leo Borg in Båstad.
Now Rafael Nadal talks about the feelings of meeting “Björn’s son”.
– It is special, says the icon.
Rafael Nadal may have the best behind him in the world of tennis, but his enormous status cannot be mistaken when he is now back in Båstad. Almost 20 years have passed since he had a huge breakthrough and that season, in 2005, the competition in Sweden was one of eleven ATP tournaments won by the Spaniard.
Awesome meeting in Båstad
Now the gravel specialist is back, and in this year’s tournament he plays in both doubles and singles. Together with the Norwegian Casper Ruud, Nadal advanced to the second round of the doubles, and it is not just any match that awaits in the first round of the singles on Tuesday.
The 22-time grand slam winner enters the tournament with a meeting against Leo Borg, son of Björn Borg. And that means a lot to Nadal. The Spaniard now reveals that he wrote to the Swedish legend right after it became clear that it would be Leo that he would meet. Björn Borg is the team captain for Team Europe in the Laver Cup, where Europe’s six best players meet six players from the rest of the world.
– I texted when I saw the draw that I need some confidence before the Laver Cup. I have to talk about his son to get some tactical advice, says Rafael Nadal with a twinkle in his eye, according to TT.
“Meeting the son of Björn…”
Björn Borg is, together with Nadal among others, one of tennis’ true greats, and for Nadal it means a lot to meet Leo Borg in particular.
– In the end, this is a first round for me, but it is of course a special feeling to meet the son of Björn, says Nadal.
This season, Rafael Nadal has opted out of all tournaments on grass, in order to invest wholeheartedly on clay instead. That made him opt out of Wimbledon, which opened up the competition in Sweden. This year’s Olympics will be decided in France on clay, and there Nadal will participate both in singles, but also in doubles with newly crowned Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.
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