"Tennis will never be the same without Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal but same was said after Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe"

Six-time Grand Slam winner Boris Becker recently commented on the constant evolution of tennis, saying that while tennis will never be the same without Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the same was said after the retirement of legends like Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and others.

The German made the statement in response to a question asked by one of his followers on Instagram during a Q&A session he hosted. The fan asked Becker if he thought tennis has lost its appeal without Federer and Nadal, seeing as the former retired last year and the latter is set to hang up his racquet at the end of the 2024 season.

Becker replied:

"Tennis will never be the same without Roger/Rafa but the same was said after Borg/Mac, Edberg/Lendl/Becker, Sampras/Agassi and so on... I guess it's called evolution!"

Boris Becker answers a question on Instagram.

Becker, the youngest man ever to win a Wimbledon single's title, coached Novak Djokovic, another modern-day great, from 2013 to 2016. By then, the Federer and Nadal rivalry had turned into a friendship based on deep-rooted mutual respect and admiration.

Federer and Nadal came face-to-face on 40 occasions, with the Spaniard leading the head-to-head 24-16. Nadal also tasted victory ten times in his 14 Grand Slam clashes against the Swiss.

Meanwhile, the rivalry between John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg was short-lived but one of the most talked about in the history of the game. The two locked horns 14 times from 1978 to 1981, outdoing each other seven times. The contest had such ferocity that in 2017, a film titled 'Borg vs McEnroe' was released. The biographical sports drama narrates the story of the 1980 Wimbledon Championships final which Borg won 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7(16–18), 8–6.

Boris Becker and Ivan Lendl, who has eight Major titles to his name, met each other 21 times in their careers with the latter pipping Becker on 11 occasions. The German, however, enjoyed a better record over Lendl at Grand Slams, winning five out of their six encounters.

Between 1984 and 1996, Becker played against the six-time Grand Slam champion from Sweden, Stefan Edberg, 35 times and won 25 of those match-ups. The overlooked Edberg-Lendl rivalry chronicled both of them playing 27 matches against each other. Edberg slightly edged ahead with 14 wins.

On the other hand, Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, dubbed the kings of tennis in the 90s, played 34 matches against each other. Sampras outdid the eight-time Grand Slam winner from the US 20 times.

Fans disguise themselves as Federer and Nadal at Wimbledon

Fans disguised as Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer: Wimbledon 2023

Interestingly, tennis fans have been turning up at SW19 disguised as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal this year. Both share a rich history at the Champonships with their 2008 encounter in the final considered one of the greatest-ever tennis matches of all-time. Nadal won the tie 6-4, 6-4, 6-7(5-7), 6-7(8-10), 9-7 to clinch his first Major title on the grass.

The Swiss maestro leads the Wimbledon head-to-head tally 3-1. Their last Wimbledon match was the semifinal clash in 2019, which Federer won 7-6(7-3), 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. The Swiss, however, lost the final against Djokovic.