A lot has changed on the ATP Tour since Bjorn Borg officially retired from professional tennis in 1993.
Borg won 11 Grand Slam titles in his career, with all of those victories coming at either Roland Garros or Wimbledon.
In more recent years, Borg has been captained at the Laver Cup, but has now handed over his role to Yannick Noah.
After spending time with the best ATP players in today’s game, Bjorg has explained what has changed in tennis over the years.
Bjorn Borg points out the biggest change in tennis since he retired
Bjorg first retired in 1983, before attempting to make a comeback eight years later to little success.
When interviewed on television network RTVE, Borg was asked about how much tennis has changed since he left the sport.
In his response to this question, Borg mentioned the big three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as an example of how much harder players hit the ball today.
The Swede also suggested that if he was on the ATP Tour in this era he would have to change the way that he played.
“They hit the ball so much harder than we did in my time,” said Borg. “Look at the players today like Djokovic, Federer, Nadal and other players. They hit the ball so much harder. Physically we were in good shape too but the way tennis is played today is so different.
“I think if I was playing today I would have to change my way to play and I would because if you love tennis and sport you would change because all style in 70’s and 80’s you cannot compare to Djokovic, Federer and Nadal.
“You cannot. But if I was playing today I would have to change the way I was thinking and the style I was playing to the style today.”
Bjorn Borg says Carlos Alcaraz will match Rafael Nadal’s achievements
One of the other players who has impressed Borg is Carlos Alcaraz, having made Laver Cup history under his captaincy last year.
Alcaraz is often compared to his compatriot Nadal, with the pair alongside one another for the latter’s retirement tournament at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga last year.
Nadal is a 22-time Grand Slam champion, with a record 14 of those coming at Roland Garros, but Borg has predicted Alcaraz to at least match his idol.
“I believe that Alcaraz will achieve the same or more than Nadal,” said Borg. “He has the right mentality and can play on all surfaces. With a bit of luck, he will be the king of tennis.”
Alcaraz replicated Nadal by winning the Monte Carlo Masters last week, and is now looking to go back-to-back at the Barcelona Open.
Having won his opening match against American Ethan Quinn, Alcaraz will now play Laslo Djere.
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