Nadal falls short in 1st final appearance since ’22

Tennis

BASTAD, Sweden — Rafael Nadal‘s winning run at the clay-court Nordea Open ended Sunday when the Spaniard was beaten by Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-2 in the final Sunday.

The seventh-seeded Portuguese player broke the Nadal serve five times on his way to a first ATP Tour title. It was Nadal’s first final since the 2022 French Open.

“It’s crazy; in tennis it doesn’t happen when you expect it sometimes,” Borges said. “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.”

Nadal was playing at the tournament in Sweden for the first time since he won the title as a 19-year-old in 2005 as he prepares for the Olympic tournament on clay at Roland Garros in Paris.

Nadal, 38, skipped Wimbledon as he didn’t want to switch surface to grass and then back to clay and risk injury. He has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries over the past year and a half.

Articles You May Like

Volpe makes dreams a reality, sparks Yanks in G4
“Even I Was Questioning…”: MS Dhoni’s First Reaction On Rohit Sharma-Led India’s Nervy T20 World Cup Final Win
Twins in sports include Barbers, Cansecos, Lundqvists, more
Rams’ offense takes off in impressive win over Vikings
‘Real’ Buehler helps put Dodgers on cusp of title

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *