Roger Federer says he would have loved to face tennis legend Bjorn Borg if he had a time machine.
Borg is considered to be one of the greatest players to grace the court. The 61-year-old turned professional in 1973 and retired from the sport in 10 years. He has won 64 career titles and has 11 Grand Slam titles to his name, which includes six French Open titles and has won Wimbledon on five occasions.
The Swede retired at the age of 26, which is relatively a young age for a tennis athlete to end their professional career. His announcement to retire came as a surprise for a majority of the players and also the fans around that time.
Federer stressed he would have loved to face Borg in a competitive match. However, the new world No.1 is aware that it is not possible but expressed his delight to have played under the 11-time Grand Slam winner's leadership at the inaugural Laver Cup in 2017.
"If I had a time machine, I would like to head to the court against Bjorn Borg. He was such an elegant and complete player from the back of the court," Federer explained, as quoted by the Express.
"He was my captain in 2017, during the inaugural Laver Cup. He was super. We spoke a lot and he told me about how tennis was at his time."
Federer, who is now 36, still continues to impress at the top. After struggling for a few years, the Basel-born star bounced back in 2017. Since the start of the last calendar year, he has won Three Grand Slams – Australian Open on two occasions and one Wimbledon – titles.
Despite struggling with injuries and poor form in his early 30s, Federer did not give up nor decide to retire. Instead, he fought hard and won several Grand Slam titles and also became the new world No.1 at the 2018 Rotterdam Open.
