Now, Borg says it could be Roger

LONDON: Five-time former Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg has changed his mind about who will win this year’s championship, veering towards Roger Federer instead of Rafael Nadal.

After the French Open when Nadal thrashed Federer in the final for the loss of only four games, Borg, the last man to win both tournaments in the same year, said he thought Nadal would win Wimbledon for the first time.

But after watching both men play “unbelievable tennis” to reach the semi-finals he told reporters: “Roger is playing perfect tennis. Before the tournament I picked Nadal just to pick someone else... Nadal has improved his game a lot since last year but if Roger is playing the way he has until the semi-finals it’s going to be tough to beat Roger,” Borg said.

Borg was speaking before Friday’s semi-finals when Federer, looking to surpass Borg’s modern-era record by winning a sixth title in a row, takes on Marat Safin and Nadal meets Rainer Schuettler.

Borg said Federer was brimming with confidence and Nadal, beaten finalist the last two years, had improved immensely on grass. After winning the claycourt French Open, the Spaniard quickly adjusted to the slick surface by capturing the Queen’s Club title a week later.

“Nadal looked like he had been practising on grass for a month... for me it was impossible to get used to the grass that quickly,” Borg said. In Paris, Borg said Federer had a bad match. “But this is his home field.”