Borg is the OG Nadal
- Thread starter megamind
- Start date
ibbi
G.O.A.T.
Why is Nadal a far better player? You're right, gamewise they are about as similar as two guys from two totally different eras can get with their baseline dominating, topspinny goodness. Borg then of course won 5 Wimbledons where he was required to play a completely different style of game. Nadal essentially just kept winning doing near enough the same thing on all surfaces.
In Laver's era and even Borg's era there were many more grass court specialists. Until 77, 3 of the 4 majors were on grass, so there were many more grass court tournaments for players to develop a good grass court game. Since, 03 or so, Wimbledon seems to be a fast clay court tournament.
tennishabit
Legend
lololololololol manoldman.............can't be 1977 man, 50s 60s wooden rkt:?))) ppl started using alloy rkt in 70s:?)))
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megamind
Legend
while Borg is fit, he's not even close to Nadal's fitness
hard to compare power I guess because of differences in racquet, but the level of power seems much lower too (even if we give them a wooden racket handicap)
the game is just better today, so good, that even the NextGen can't handle the quality of GOATGen
megamind
Legend
lololololololol manoldman.............can't be 1977 man, 50s 60s wooden rkt:?))) ppl started using alloy rkt in 70s:?)))
hmm interesting point, not sure
skaj
Legend
Why do you think that Borg was not even close to Nadal's fitness? He was ahead of his time when it comes to fitness, and obviously had a lot of natural stamina.
tennishabit
Legend
i've got a full spectrum of rkt collection, also tried most of them while doing my 600-1200 hits daily dosage n so much fun, man. i was told wooden 1s were b4 60s n alloy 1s in 70s. graphite 1s came out in 80s etcetc. not sure if it's the case
....................Laver was using both aluminum and wooden racquets in the 70s, depending on the speed of the court.lololololololol manoldman.............can't be 1977 man, 50s 60s wooden rkt:?))) ppl started using alloy rkt in 70s:?)))
Changing from wooden to aluminum even during the very same match, if he was not feeling the ball.
That clip is from the WITC, 1977.
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megamind
Legend
Borg got these?
on a serious note, it's just the way Borg moves, not as intense as Rafa
but then again, maybe he dont need to move that way, since the game is slower (despite being on faster courts)
The last time 3 of the 4 Slams were on grass was 1974. The US Open was on clay 1975, 1976 and 1977. But agree there were more grass court specialists back in the day, and Wimbledon now is a medium speed court since 2002
clout
Hall of Fame
Borg could've been the GOAT if he hadn't retired so early as he had a more decorated resume than any player by age 25 in history.
skaj
Legend
Borg got these?
on a serious note, it's just the way Borg moves, not as intense as Rafa
but then again, maybe he dont need to move that way, since the game is slower (despite being on faster courts)
Well, definitely, but he had endurance in long matches and was very quick when he needed to be. When it comes to movement, Borg was sort of a more refine version of Nadal. His footwork was a bit more precise, he was lighter, more elegant.
Spencer Gore
Legend
Nadal isn't a far better player than Borg. Borg's achievement in winning six French titles and five Wimbledon titles by the age of 25 is insane.
BringBackSV
Hall of Fame
In absolute terms he probably is better but relative to his era that claim is inane. Borg was every bit the tennis player Rafa is.
clout
Hall of Fame
He's definitely not a "far better" player than Borg but tbh he's a "far greater" player than Borg
BringBackSV
Hall of Fame
No, he's not.
clout
Hall of Fame
Borg's an icon, but Rafa has more majors at one slam than Borg does in total. In terms of accomplishments and where they rank all time, Rafa definitely ranks higher than Bjorn
BringBackSV
Hall of Fame
Yeah, no ****. The point seemingly lost on people like yourself is that it's not a one to one comparison.
tennishabit
Legend
gee...............can't imagine the pros nowadays shuffling different type/model rkts like dat in a match.
even the real rec-ers like me, down to earth 'wall hitter' lost the feel n no accuracy at all after changing the rkt, man
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