What a way to win your first ever ATP title, against the 22-time Grand Slam champion and tennis legend, Rafa Nadal in the Swedish Open final.
Nuno Borges, the 51 ranked Portuguese, was “living in the clouds” after his Sunday final win at the ATP Båstad tournament.
Nadal was looking for his own magical ending in Båstad, a tournament he won when only 19 years old. The Spaniard entered the final as favorite but Borges proved too strong and came out with an impressive 6-3, 6-2 win to claim the Nordea Open trophy.
NUNO BORGES DERROTOU NADAL E CONQUISTA O PRIMEIRO TORNEIO ATP DA CARREIRA, EM BÅSTAD! ?pic.twitter.com/CzoXQmsUoP
— B24 (@B24PT) July 21, 2024
“First time here, I never thought I would have been here playing on a full stadium against Rafa on clay. It is a dream come true,”, Borges following the final win.
Borges more consistent
It was a very solid Nuno Borges in his first ATP final (compared to Nadal’s 131) and no one can say he didn’t deserve this title. The 27-year-old showed no nerves and continued the extremely high level of serving that helped him reach the last match in Båstad.
Not only that, he finished the match by winning 72 % of second-serve return points, vs the King of Clay!
“It’s crazy. 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,” Borges continued.
Rafa, now 38 years old, has fallen to 261 in the world rankings and we are now looking forward to seeing him in the Olympic Games in Paris, where he will also be playing doubles with Carlos Alcaraz.
