By Erik Gudris | @atntennis | Monday, July 15, 2024
Rafael Nadal enjoyed a doubles win with Casper Ruud as he prepares to face Bjorn Borg’s son in singles at Bastad. Photo Credit: Nordea Open Facebook.
Rafael Nadal made a winning return to tennis, however, on the doubles court with a familiar star as his teammate.
The all-time great Nadal paired up with Casper Ruud for doubles for the Spaniard’s first match since May at the Nordea Open ATP 250 event in Bastad, Sweden. The fun pairing quickly earned the nickname, “Ruudal” to the delight of Bastad where Nadal is competing for the first time in 19 years after lifting the singles trophy back in 2005 at age 19.
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The wildcard pair earned a 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 2 seeds Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela that puts them into the quarterfinals.
“It’s a pleasure playing with a good friend and an amazing player like Casper here in Bastad,” Nadal said after the match. “Personally, I am happy and I think it was a good match. We played quite well in the first time we played together and I’m happy to be back here after almost 20 years.”
Nadal also took time to congratulate Spain for a big day sportswise for the nation. That included Carlos Alcaraz winning the Wimbledon Gentlemen’s Singles title again over Novak Djokovic while later the Spanish soccer team won the Euro Cup over England.
Nadal’s doubles win was his first competitive match since he lost to Alexander Zverev in the opening round of Roland Garros. The 22-time major champion is playing this week in Bastad as a warm up for the upcoming Summer Games in Paris.
In the singles draw, Nadal is set to face Leo Borg, the son of all-time great and six-time Roland Garros champion Bjorn Borg. For the 21-year-old Borg, it’s a dream come true just to play against Nadal since the Spaniard is one of his tennis idols. The men even practiced together before the start of the tournament.
“It was crazy because we were looking when they did the draw and my name just popped up against Rafa,” Borg said. “I’m feeling very excited and it’s going to be a great match,” Borg said to ATP.com. “It was a very good practice and of course he’s been my idol since I was very young, so it’s going to be a very special moment in my career,” Borg said.
“But I’m looking forward to that and I’m feeling really, really excited.”
Top seed and defending champion Andrey Rublev will start his title defense against Thiago Augustin Tirante or a qualifier. Ruud, the No. 2 seed, will face Federico Coria or Thiago Monteiro in the second round.
Photo Credit: Nordea Open Tennis Facebook