Contesting his first tournament since Roland Garros, 22-time major Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal launched his singles campaign at the Nordea Open with victory over home hero Leo Borg on Tuesday, setting a second rounder against Briton Cameron Norrie.
Making his first appearance on Swedish soil at the Nordea Open since winning the trophy in 2005, Rafael Nadal hit the clay court, opening proceedings against home hero Leo Borg, recoding a 6-3, 6-4 victory after one hour and 25 minutes in Bastad.
“The feelings are great; playing in front of a full crowd means a lot to me,” said Nadal courtside. “Even in the tougher moments, I have been able to keep going with the help of the team, and of course, the fans have a huge impact on that. They give me amazing energy.”
In the spotlight, the Spaniard delivered a sharp performance behind his serve, winning 82 percent of the points on his first serve, hitting five aces, and converting two break points throughout the contest against the son of 11-time major winner Bjorn Borg.
During his on-court interview, the 14-time French Open champion further outlined: “For me, it has been a huge honor to play against the son of one of the biggest legends in the history of our sport. I think he played quite well; he has a great future in front of him. I wish him all the very best.”
The 21-year-old, who in 2023 captured his maiden win on Tour at his home event, received a wild card to play the tournament’s 76th edition.
Meanwhile, the 38-year-old from Manacor, preparing to compete at the Olympics in Paris late in July, dominated the encounter, charging at the net often - won 8 of 10 ten approaches, facing no break points en route to notching his first singles rounder in Bastad on his second match point.
Moreover, he fired 24 winners to 5 unforced errors compared to the Stockholm-born 23 and 8, respectively.
Next, the former world number one will meet fifth seed Cameron Norrie, who moved past world No. 102 Jozef Kovalik in straight sets.
Nadal leads Norrie, playing at the Nordea Open for the first time, 4-1 in their series.
Doubles Action in Sweden
On Monday, a journey disrupted by the rain, the Spanish player and the world No. 9 Casper Ruud joined forces in doubles at the ATP 250, earning a 6-1, 6-4 win in 79 minutes over second seeds Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela and Guido Andreozzi.
After the match, the 92-time ATP titlist commented: “It’s a pleasure playing with a good friend and an amazing player like Casper here in Bastad. It was a good match. We played quite well, and I am happy to be back here after almost 20 years.”
“I have great memories from this place from 2003, 2004, and 2005, so I am enjoying this week and hopefully can keep going.”
On Wednesday, top seed Andrey Rublev will face off against Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante, setting off his title defense.
