“I enjoyed being back,” Rafael Nadal’s amazing week at Bastad comes to an end as he suffers a straight-set loss against Nuno Borges in the final

Nuno Borges became just the fifth player to beat Rafael Nadal in a clay-court final.

“I enjoyed being back,” Rafael Nadal’s amazing week at Bastad comes to an end as he suffers a straight-set loss against Nuno Borges in the final

Nuno Borges, Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)

Rafael Nadal‘s amazing campaign at the Nordea Open came to an end on July 21st. Nadal, who last won the 2022 French Open, will have to wait for another tournament to bid for his next ATP title as he lost the Nordea Open final to seventh-seed Nuno Borges in straight sets 6-3, 6-2. 

It wasn’t smooth sailing for the 38-year-old Spaniard as he had to battle hard twice in the quarterfinals against 4th seed Mariano Navone and an unseeded Duje Ajdukovic in the semifinals. The match against Navone was in fact Nadal’s second-longest match in an ATP three-set event.

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You (the crowd) made me feel special on the court and gave me a lot of energy in the tough moments. I don’t know if I’ll be back here playing. Probably not. But I enjoyed being back and playing here one more time, without a doubt.
Rafael Nadal said after the match 

It was also his first final since the 2022 French Open as he missed almost an entire 2023 due to the hip injury he suffered at the Australian Open that year. Nadal, who received a wild card, was bidding for his second title in Bastad after 19 long years as his first one came in 2005 and since then he did not participate in the tournament. 

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Nuno Borges becomes the fifth player to beat Rafael Nadal on clay 

No one can doubt that Rafael Nadal is the ultimate clay-court player and beating him on his favorite surface is a daunting task for even the other great players of the game. Only a few players were able to beat the King of Clay in a clay-court final and Nuno Borges became just the fifth player to achieve this remarkable feat after Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Horacio Zeballos, and Andy Murray.

Nuno Borges, Rafael Nadal
Nuno Borges (Image via Imago)
It’s crazy. In tennis, it doesn’t happen when you expect it sometimes. 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.
Nuno Borges said after the match 

Borges broke Nadal’s five serves to emerge as victorious for the first time in an ATP final. Nadal was also playing doubles with Casper Ruud but withdrew from the semifinals they were to play against Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos right after reaching the singles final. In a press conference, he confirmed that he was not ready to risk his body. 

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