Rafael Nadal reveals the reason behind his loss against Nuno Borges at Nordea Open final

Nadal had to settle for a runner-up finish in Bastad after losing in straight sets to the Portuguese.

Rafael Nadal reveals the reason behind his loss against Nuno Borges at Nordea Open final

Rafael Nadal (via Imago)

Rafael Nadal fell to a disappointing defeat to Nuno Borges at the 2024 Nordea Open final. It was the Spaniard’s first final since 2022 and an error-strewn performance saw him finish as the runner-up. Analyzing the defeat, he revealed that he was physically and mentally out of energy during the match.

Nadal arrived at Bastad without a professional match for over a month. He has entered both the singles and doubles of the tournament and was hoping for a good warm-up ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, the Spaniard performed better than expected, reaching the semifinals in both categories.

After beating Cameron Norrie in the second round of the singles, he played two consecutive three-set matches against Mariano Navone and Duje Ajdukovic that lasted for over six hours and twenty minutes combined. Nadal had to withdraw from his doubles semifinals to focus on the singles.

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Against Borges in the final, he struggled to impose himself in the match and couldn’t handle the Portuguese youngster’s serve and lost 6-3, 6-2. Later, he admitted that he could not meet the demands of the match both physically and mentally.

I tried at all times to find solutions, but the level was far from what I should have shown. It’s important to me that my body held up to the demands of the week, but physically and mentally I had no energy left. This is perhaps one of the reasons for my bad match in the final, but I have a lot of things to analyze.

Rafael Nadal said at a press conference

Nadal will next part in the Summer Games, where he will be hoping to go the distance and add to his two Olympic medals.

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Rafael Nadal breaks into Top 200 of the ATP rankings after runner-up finish at the Nordea Open

Despite the runner-up finish at the Nordea Open, Rafael Nadal‘s strong performances have seen him break into the Top 200 in the ATP rankings once again.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Via Imago)

The Spaniard began last week as World No. 261 and will now climb 100 spots to World No. 161 after earning 165 points from four straight wins at the ATP 250 tournament in Bastad. He would have climbed to No. 135 had won the title but he will certainly be happy to break into the Top 200 nonetheless.

On the other hand, Bastad champion Nuno Borges will climb to a career-high ranking of World No. 42 after winning his maiden ATP title.

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