Rafael Nadal reached his first ATP Tour final since his triumph in the French Open in 2022 at the Swedish Open but lost to Portugal’s Nuno Borges on Sunday,21st July 2024 in Bastad in the Swedish Open final.
World number 51, Nuno Borges beat Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 to win the Swedish Open in Bastad.
Spaniard Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, slipped to a resounding defeat in his first final since 2022.
Hampered by hip and abdominal injuries in the last 18 months, the 38-year-old has fallen to 261 in the rankings and opted against playing at Wimbledon this summer to prioritize the Olympics.
Portuguese Borges, playing his first ATP final compared to Nadal’s 131st, took the first set in 46 minutes and won three games in a row in the second to seal victory.
“It’s crazy. I know we all wanted Rafa to win – a part of me wished that too – but something even bigger inside of me really pushed through today.
I was wishing for this moment for a while already.
I’m just really happy overall. I really don’t know what to say. I’m very emotional.” said 27-year-old Borges.
Borges delivered a rock-solid performance against the 22-time Grand Slam champion as he was consistent throughout and broke Nadal’s serve five times.
The 38-year-old Spaniard did not enter Wimbledon this year because he did not want to risk injury switching from clay to grass and back again before the Olympics as he wanted to use this clay-court event to prepare himself for the Olympic Games at Roland Garros.
“I have been here during the whole week and a half enjoying this amazing place. I really had fun on court. I played some long and good matches. Today wasn’t my best day. But all credit to Nuno. He played very very well and it was difficult for me, so well done.” Nadal said
Raphael Nadal with an 11-6 record for the year, will now focus on preparing for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he will enter the men’s singles using a protected ranking and also team up with Carlos Alcaraz in the men’s doubles.
The win against Nadal saw the 22-year-old Portuguese number 7 seed Borges win his first title in the ATP Tour.
Story by: Rabbi Adu Agyei |univers.ug.edu.gh
