Making his return to tennis for the first time since May after his opening round loss in the French Open, Spanish tennis legend showed some signs of rust but nonetheless secured a win against Leo Borg in his Nordea Open opener on Tuesday.
Borg, the 21-year old son of former world number one and tennis icon Bjorn Borg, lost to the 38-year-old veteran by 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets.
In the opening stages of the game, Nadal made some uncharacteristic errors, but raised his game as the match progressed. He thrived in wet and heavy conditions and pinned Borg in his backhand corner, forcing the Swedish to hit above his shoulder.
For me, it has been a huge honour to play against the son of one of the biggest legends in the history of our sport," Nadal said of Borg as quoted by ATP Website.
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"I think he played quite well, he has a great future in front of him. I wish him all the very best," he added.
Rafael Nadal makes his Nordea Open return after 19 years
Nadal is playing the Nordea Open for the first time since his triumph in 2005 in this ATP 250 competition. A break of serve in each set was enough for the veteran to reach the next round.
The 92 tour-level titlist did not show signs of hindered movement, even tumbling behind the baseline. But he was cautious in going for big first serves throughout this match, which lasted almost one and the half hours.
"Playing in front of a full crowd means a lot to me. It gives me energy to keep practicing every day. Even in the tougher moments, I have been able to keep going with the help of the team, but of course the fans have a huge impact on that. They give me amazing energy," said Nadal.
Nadal is playing his sixth tournament of the season, having won eight and lost five games. He will now face the fifth seed Cameron Norrie, who defeated Jozef Kovalik 7-6(4), 6-4.
Nadal has an edge of four wins and a loss against Norrie in the head-to-head battle, with Norrie winning the most recent game during the 2023 United Cup.
