Rafael Nadal faced his first final defeat in two years on Sunday, July 21, losing 6-3, 6-2 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges at the clay-court Bastad Open. The Spanish tennis legend, showing promising signs of a comeback in Scandinavia, had made a notable run to the final, just a week before the Olympic Games begin in Paris. However, instead of celebrating his 64th clay-court title and his first since Roland Garros 2022, Nadal was outplayed by the seventh seed Borges, struggling with his serve and groundstrokes.
“Today wasn’t my best day, but all the credit to Nuno. He played very well and it was so difficult for me, so well done,” Nadal acknowledged.
Rafael Nadal saved break points before missing
Borges broke Rafael Nadal’s serve early to go 3-1 up, with Nadal saving break points before missing a forehand down the line. Despite Rafael Nadal breaking back immediately, the first set saw Borges quickly taking control, converting his second break point with a perfect drop shot. Nadal, finding it hard to land his first serve, managed to hold his second service game, forcing Borges to serve again. The world number 51 held his nerve and served out the set.
In the second set, Rafael Nadal briefly showed his old form with a powerful forehand winner down the line but struggled to maintain consistency. Borges broke Nadal’s serve at 2-2 and continued his dominance, winning the next three games. The 27-year-old sealed his first career title with an ace in his first-ever match against the former world number one.
“I don’t know what to say. I think I was wishing for this moment for a while already,” Borges said in his post-match interview. “It’s crazy, in tennis, it doesn’t happen when you expect it sometimes. I know we all wanted Rafael Nadal to win, a part of me wished that too, but something even bigger inside of me really pushed through today… I’m just really happy overall. I really don’t know what to say, I’m very emotional.”
