Borg: Modern game tougher than my day

 

Originally published on: 19/04/12 00:00

Bjorn Borg, who has been watching matches at this week’s Monte Carlo Masters 1000 tournament, believes that the modern game is much tougher than it was in his day. The 55-year-old Swede, who won 30 singles titles on clay including six French Opens, also says that Rafael Nadal “is the best player the world has ever seen on clay”.

Borg said in an interview with the official programme for the Monte Carlo tournament: “I think that tennis right now is great with all the personalities there are and the rivalry between Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray. Rivalries are needed in tennis. In my time it was the same thing when I played McEnroe, Connors or Vilas. You need those kinds of matches because they bring out the best in each player and that is what the public loves to see.

“Today the game is much tougher than in my time. The players are much bigger and hit the balls much harder. It’s a completely different game today, plus there are so many more players. It makes it very tough. The players have to compete in a lot of tournaments, maybe even too many and play too many matches against strong players so they can end up with serious injuries, which is not a good thing for the game.”

Borg won three titles in Monte Carlo, while Nadal arrived at this week’s tournament aiming to win the event for the eighth year in a row. Borg hailed Nadal’s “amazing” record. “His record of wins at the French Open, here in Monaco, at the Italian Open, is fantastic,” Borg said. “Nobody has ever done what he has achieved. It’s going to be a tough record to beat. To my mind he is the best player the world has ever seen on clay. I think what he has done for the game of tennis over the years is remarkable.”

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