BASTAD: Rafael Nadal lost his first final in two years on Sunday, as the Spaniard went down 6-3, 6-2 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges at the clay-court Bastad Open.

The Spanish tennis great appeared to be back in form in Scandinavia as he put in an impressive performance to reach the final just a week before the Olympic Games kick off on clay in Paris.

But Nadal did not celebrate his 64th title on the surface and his first since Roland Garros 2022. He was dominated by seventh-seeded Borges, who struggled with his serve and ground strokes.

“Congratulations Nuno,” Nadal said.

“You’ve played great all week, so you deserve it more than anyone here. Congratulations and enjoy your moment, it’s always special to win a title.

“Today wasn’t my best day but all credit goes to Nuno, he played really well and it was so difficult for me, so well done.”

Borges was the first to make progress in the match when he broke the Spaniard’s serve to take a 3-1 lead, but Nadal saved a couple of break points before missing a forehand.

But the 14-time Roland Garros champion immediately hit back at Borges’ serve, earning two breakback points before the Portuguese slammed a forehand into the net from inside the service box.

But neither player could gain the upper hand in the first set, as Borges quickly extended his next service game to a 0-40 lead, converting his second break point with a perfectly executed drop shot.

Nadal struggled with his first serve, but only managed to hold his second service game of the first set, forcing Borges to serve one more time.

The world number 51 kept his spirits up and did just that.

The 38-year-old showed signs of his old self-service at deuce in the first game of the second set with a stunning forehand winner, before eventually holding on. But that was one of the few highlights for Nadal that day.

Borges then struck at 2-2 when he broke Nadal’s serve for the first time in the second set and for the fourth time in total to take the lead.

The 27-year-old then won the next three matches to secure his first career title, in his very first match against the former world number one with an ace.

“I don’t know what to say. I think I’ve been waiting for this moment for a while,” Borges said in his post-match interview.

“It’s funny, in tennis sometimes it doesn’t happen when you expect it. I know we all wanted Rafa to win, part of me wanted it too, but something even bigger inside me really pushed through today… I’m just really happy overall. I really don’t know what to say, I’m very emotional.”

Published in Dawn, July 22, 2024