In their first meeting on tour, Nuno Borges, the fourth Portuguese player to ever reach a singles ATP final, defeated 22-time Slam men’s singles champion in straight sets to claim the Nordea Open title, a career first at tour-level on Sunday in Bastad.
Seventh seed Nuno Borges completes a dream week in Bastad by prevailing 6-3, 6-2 after one hour and 32 minutes over former Nordea Open champion Rafael Nadal, lifting his maiden career trophy at tour level on Sunday afternoon.
After winning the championship match, an emotional Borges, the second-ever Portuguese player to win an ATP title, said: “I don’t know what to say. I had been waiting for this moment for a while.”
“The atmosphere was incredible. Everyone wanted Rafa to win, even me. But something even bigger inside of me really pushed through today, through the emotions, all the ups and downs,” he added.
The 27-year-old, who only dropped a set all week, delivered a consistent tennis display, which led to a straightforward victory in which he fired 23 winners against 16 unforced errors, converting 5 of 12 break points, and won 67 percent of the points on his first serve.
Meanwhile, the former world number one, visibly disappointed with the match outcome, reflected: “The level was so far from what it should be. Probably the energy, too. It has been a long week with long matches.”
Adding: “Even if my body, I don’t have damage, that’s important - but mentally and physically, I am not used to playing four days in a row and playing long matches.”
Contesting his first tournament since May, Nadal spent over 10 hours on court across five encounters, a significant time for a player who underwent hip surgery less than a year ago while still recovering from an abdominal injury.
“I need to analyze well and find the reason why I played that way, even if the energy was not right,” he remarked.
“A lot of things can’t happen on court if you want to play at the level I want to. Things like this can happen today, and that is the situation. I don’t have to lie or hide anything.”
Despite the Spaniard’s frustration, his week on Swedish soil saw him battling his way through his first final on tour in over two years, the number 131 of his career, in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics.
In that regard, the 38-year-old commented: “I played the final, that’s positive. I was able to play long matches without having an injury and that’s good.”
The disappointment is inevitable for such a competitive player, but the lack of match play, having competed in six tournaments before Bastad, did not stop him from rallying en route to the final while delivering moments of brilliance in the process.
The 14-time French Open winner campaign highlight match became the longest ever played in the tournament history, four hours, as the longest three-setter of the year at tour level.
It happened on Friday when the Manacor native hit the court to play fourth-seed Mariano Navone, coming through the test posed by the Argentine, prevailing 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5 to notch his spot in the last four.
During the trophy ceremony, the Spaniard shared a few words with the brand-new champion, outlining: “You played great the whole week, so you deserve it more than anyone else here. Congratulations, and enjoy your moment. Winning a title is always special. I wish you all the very best for the rest of the season.”
On Monday, Borges will reach a career-high No. 42 before heading to Paris to compete at the Olympic tennis tournament as Nadal.
