Carlos Moya Says Rafael Nadal Is a Cross Between Bjorn Borg ‘Who Was Pure Ice’ and John McEnroe ‘Who Was All Fire’

Rafael Nadal has gone on to become one of the most decorated players in tennis. Despite numerous injury setbacks in his career, the Spaniard has time and again made solid comebacks on the tennis court. While he missed the latter half of the 2021 season due to injuries, Nadal made a resounding comeback this year to clinch the Australian Open and the French Open titles, apart from other honors.

Carlos Moya joined Nadal’s coaching team at the start of the 2017 season. The Spaniard made an instant impact as Nadal won the French Open and the US Open title that year, apart from reaching the Australian Open final. Moya once described how Nadal was a combination of the tennis legends, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe.

Carlos Moya on the special qualities of Rafael Nadal

In Nadal’s autobiography, Rafa: My Story, Moya has talked about how Nadal imbibed two contrasting qualities from Borg and McEnroe. An excerpt from this book reads, “For Moya, Nadal is a cross between the two players who staged the greatest rivalry tennis had seen until Nadal and Federer came along. Borg was pure ice, McEnroe was all fire.”

“The secret of the tremendous appeal he has worldwide,” says Moya, “is that you can see he is as passionate as McEnroe was, but he has the self-control of Borg, the cold-blooded killer. To be both in one is a contradiction, and that’s what Rafa is.”

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Recently, Nadal made an appearance at the Laver Cup where he played doubles with Federer. It was the Swiss Maestro’s last match of his illustrious career. However, they went on to lose the match against Frances Tiafoe and Jack Sock.

Nadal takes a break from tennis

Following his match with Federer, Nadal withdrew from the Laver Cup to be with his wife in Mallorca. The couple is expecting their first child. Additionally, Nadal’s wife had suffered a health scare recently and was hospitalized.

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The 22-time Grand Slam champion will hope to finish the 2022 season on a strong note. However, it is still unclear when Nadal plans to return to the ATP Tour.