Following the conclusion of Wimbledon 2024, the attention of the tennis world has shifted to Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard stepped on the court to play an ATP match for the first time since his opening-round loss against Alexander Zverev at the French Open 2024. As expected, his win over Leo Borg, Bjorn Borg’s son, has left social media in a frenzy.
Nadal looked to be in great shape during the first round of the Swedish Open. It took Nadal only 85 minutes to get past Leo Borg 6-3, 6-4 in Bastad.
Rafa is always the talk of social media whenever he performs in any tournament. However, this time the Spaniard found himself trending because of a joke made by popular social media user Bastien Fachan.
Fachan hilariously stated how the King of Clay put an end to all GOAT debates by becoming the first player to defeat Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, and “Borg”. His wittiness was appreciated.
Rafael Nadal becomes the first player ever to defeat Djokovic, Federer, Agassi and Borg pic.twitter.com/aU0gavPKOe
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) July 16, 2024
Here are how some fans reacted to the same:
Hmmmmm… I should play against the son of Djokovic very very soon….
— werweisswer (@werweisswer) July 16, 2024
love this
— leticia (@leticia99085092) July 16, 2024
El cyborg venció a Borg.
The cyborg beat Borg.
— Sadrak (@sadrakph) July 16, 2024
You forgot about [Benjamin] Becker
— Neurobalalaika (@neurobalalaika) July 17, 2024
Tennis enthusiasts would’ve loved to watch a battle between two of the greatest clay court players – Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg. While that might be impossible for obvious reasons, fans had to make do with the battle between Rafa and Leo. From what the spectators in the stands and social media’s reactions suggested, tennis fans seemed to have enjoyed themselves.
Rafael Nadal lauded Leo Borg for playing “quite well”
After his dominant straight-sets victory, Rafael Nadal expressed being honored to share the court with the son of an all-time great. Taking no spotlight away from Leo, the 22-time Grand Slam winner complimented the youngster for his performance and also wished him luck for a “great future”.
“For me, it has been a huge honour to play against the son of one of the biggest legends in the history of our sport. I think he played quite well, he has a great future in front. I wish him all the very best,” Nadal said.
Rafa has now clinched opening-round wins in both the events – singles and doubles. Having partnered up with Casper Ruud for the ATP 250 event, they will face the Theo Arribage-Roman Safiullin duo on Wednesday to book a semifinal berth.
The former World No.1 will also play on Thursday, going up against British No.2 Cameron Norrie in the Round of 16.
