Spring Break
Tennis transfer adjusts to 'different' life in U.S.
RACHEL BOWERS
Issue date: 3/4/09 Section: Sports
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But Borja Malo has already begun making his mark on Georgia tennis at the No. 4 singles spot for the Bulldogs. Prior to Georgia's weekend sweep over Georgia Tech and Furman, the redshirt sophomore transfer from the University of Ecuador stopped to chat about playing tennis and soccer as a kid, and pieing a certain teammate in the face.
The Red & Black: How did you get into tennis as a kid?
Borja Malo: My father put me in, to start playing the sport. I played soccer and tennis when I was little until the age of like 12, and I decided to play tennis. I was better at tennis.
R&B: Has the team taken you in well since you got here?
BM: Amazing, all the guys have been very good with me. They support me a lot, and I'm grateful of all them because they helped me a lot when I came. They still support me. Everybody has been so good.
R&B: Are there any languages you want to learn?
BM: I know French because I was in middle school and high school in a French school, so I know French pretty well. I speak three languages good, so maybe Italian. It's a good language that I like.
R&B: How do you feel about cutting your hair off? (Malo now sports a buzz cut instead of a previous long shag.)
BM: That was crazy because I always wear long hair. When I was 14, 15, always long hair. It was an amazing change for me. When I saw me in the mirror, I was like what happened to my hair? It's different. I like it because it's easier when I shower. Sometimes I miss my hair.
R&B: What's the best thing you've experienced since you've been in Athens?
BM: The life here is different. The life is like a small town, like a college town. It's much different than Santiago. I lived in a big city, 6 million and a half [people]. Change, coming from a big city to a small city here is more quiet, and you can go walking to many places so that's the best experience. To be in a small city, and everybody knows each other and everybody is very happy to live like this.
R&B: What do you miss most about home?
BM: My mother, her cooking. My little brothers because I have little brothers. [One] brother is 17 and my other is 11. I miss them. And my friends. The people here are different. Everybody have been very, very nice here.
R&B: Do you know how to surf?
BM: No, but I would like to. I love the beach. When I am at home, I go to the beach, but I don't know how to surf.
R&B: Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal?
BM: That's hard. Nadal.
R&B: What are you scared of?
BM: To lose someone that I love. Being here, I can't be with them everyday, and you can never know.
R&B: If you could pick a teammate to pie in the face, who would it be?
BM: Drake [Bernstein] because he's the most annoying. For sure Drake.
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