Virginia Wade feels Rafael Nadal can overtake Bjorn Borg – Tennis News
Britain’s former top tennis player, Virginia Wade, said she thinks Rafael Nadal of Spain will become a bigger player than Sweden’s Bjorn Borg if the former wins this year’s French Open.
The 1977 Wimbledon winner said, "I think I would give the edge to Nadal by a hair. He's beating everybody all the time (on clay). His record in Monte Carlo is beyond belief. Of course, they play much faster than they used to and
can hit the ball much harder but if he won the French I might have to give him the edge."
The 10-time Grand Slam winner, Nadal, has won a record eight straight titles at the clay court event of Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters. This is a record by any player of any era at any tournament in the tennis history.
The Spaniard has also won a tournament record seven titles at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in Spain. He is always considered the favourite to win the contest when he lands on his own surface.
Nadal is aiming to capture his record breaking seventh title at the red clay courts of Roland Garros in the comings days. The Spaniards shares the record for winning most titles at the French Open with Bjorn Borg at six.
Borg was considered unbeatable on clay courts during his prime time in the late 70s and early 80s. He was considered as the best clay court player of all time without any competition before Nadal had come on the scene of international
tennis and started to show his heroics.
The Swede won his six crowns in the capital of France, Paris, from 1974-75 and 1978-81. On the other hand, Nadal’s six titles so far have been won from 2005-08 and 2010-11.
This will be the Spaniard’s eighth appearance at the French Open and he has lost only once until now. The clay courts of Roland Garros are the favourite hunting ground for Nadal and he won his first title here in 2005, when he
was participating for the first time in his career.
The only time Nadal was unable to hold the champion’s trophy in Paris was when he was upset by Borg’s countryman, Robin Soderling, in the fourth round in 2009. It is pertinent to note that Nadal was suffering with family crisis
and knee injuries at that time.
Nadal is known as the King of Clay by tennis followers due to his unbelievable performances on the slowest surface. This status was challenged by current top ranked player, Novak Djokovic, as he defeated the Spaniard in straight
sets in both of their matches on clay court last year.
However, Nadal took his revenge by beating the reigning world number one in straight sets in the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters and Internazionali BNL d’Italia finals in this season.
Wade said about Djokovic, "Djokovic is a little fluctuating in his game but Nadal fights every single point. Djokovic would be so disappointed not to win having won the other three Grand Slams, but he hasn't been playing as decisively
as last year.”
If Nadal wins this year’s French Open, he will also move one step closer to replacing Djokovic from the top spot in the ATP Singles Rankings.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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