Join Us 
Rafael Nadal lost his first final in two years on Sunday, falling 6-3, 6-2 to Portugal’s Nuno Borges at the clay-court Bastad Open. The Spanish tennis legend had shown signs of a comeback in Scandinavia, making an impressive run to the final just a week before the Olympic Games start in Paris. However, instead of celebrating his 64th clay title and first since the 2022 French Open, Nadal was outplayed by the seventh seed Borges. Nadal struggled with his serve and ground strokes throughout the match. “Many congratulations to Nuno,” Nadal said. “You’ve been playing great all week, so you deserve it more than anyone else here. Enjoy your moment; it’s always special winning a title. Today wasn’t my best day, but all the credit to Nuno. He played very well and it was tough for me.”
Borges made the first move in the match, breaking Nadal’s serve to go 3-1 up. Nadal saved break points but missed a forehand down the line. The 14-time French Open winner broke back immediately, earning two break-back points before Borges hit a forehand into the net.
However, neither player could dominate the first set. Borges quickly gained a 0-40 lead in the next service game, converting his second break point with a perfect drop shot. Nadal struggled with his first serve but managed to hold his second service game of the set, forcing Borges to serve again. The world number 51 kept his nerve and held serve.
In the second set, Nadal showed flashes of his old self, hitting a booming forehand winner down the line at deuce in the first game before eventually holding serve. However, that was one of the few highlights for Nadal on the day. Borges broke Nadal’s serve at 2-2 in the second set and then won the next three games, sealing his first career title in his first match against the former world number one with an ace.
“I don’t know what to say. I think I was wishing for this moment for a while already,” said Borges in his post-match interview. “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. I’m just really happy overall. I really don’t know what to say; I’m very emotional.”
