Rafael Nadal won in two straight sets against Leo Borg.
Then he said the most powerful thing about his opponent.
– A great honor, says the legend.
It was a special match in many ways on Båstad’s clay. Even though Leo Borg has a father who is one of the sport’s greatest legends, he has told that Rafael Nadal was the real reason why he started playing tennis. And on Tuesday they both met.
Won in two straight sets
Rafael Nadal has had huge injury problems in recent years and has plummeted in the world rankings. This year he has decided not to run any competitions on grass, but only to bet on clay competitions, in order to prepare for the Olympics, which are played on clay in France. It also meant that he opted out of Wimbledon for competition in Båstad.
On Tuesday, Nadal stepped into the first round of the singles tournament, and then had to face Leo Borg, as one of Nadal’s idols, Björn Borg. In front of packed stands, the great clay king Nadal, who during his career won a total of 22 Grand Slams, 16 of which on clay, had no major problems against the Swedish talent. In the end, Nadal won in two straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Powerful words afterwards
But afterwards, Nadal was honest about how much the match meant to him and there were hugely nice words coming from him.
– A great honor to have played against the son of one of the biggest legends in our sport, says Nadal.
Rafael Nadal, who during the Olympics will play both singles and doubles with newly crowned Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz, also took the opportunity to praise Leo Borg as a great talent.
– He played well and has a future ahead of him, I wish him all the best in the future, says the icon.
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