Rafael Nadal denied first title in two years after defeat in Nordea Open final
Nadal ended a productive week in Bastad with a 6-3 6-2 loss to Nuno Borges in the Nordea Open final
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rafael Nadal missed out on a first title in two years after he lost in straight sets to Nuno Borges in the Nordea Open final.
Nadal has not lifted silverware since his French Open triumph in 2022 after a spate of injury problems, which meant he missed the majority of 2023.
The 22-time grand slam champion has been patient with his latest comeback but looked on course to triumph in Bastad after marathon three-set wins over Mariano Navone and Duje Ajdukovic fired him into the final.
However, it proved a bridge too far with Borges able to win by a 6-3 6-2 score.
Breaks were exchanged early on between Nadal and Borges, who was competing in his first ever ATP Tour final.
After Borges came through a lengthy first service game to hold, he was able to break Nadal and it sparked a period of five consecutive breaks.
Eventually the Portuguese player halted the run to move 5-2 up and took the opener before Nadal was forced to dig deep at the start of the second set.
Nadal had to save a break point during a 14-minute opening game, but Borges seized his moment to move 3-2 ahead and clinched victory on his first match point with an ace to deny his 38-year-old opponent a long-awaited title after an-hour-and-28-minute battle.
It has still been a productive week for Nadal, who won four matches in a row for the first time since 2022 and had his physical condition tested ahead of representing Spain at the Olympic Games, which take place at Roland Garros later this month.
Matteo Berrettini claimed his second ATP Tour title of the season with a 6-3 6-1 win over Quentin Halys in the Swiss Open final.
Berrettini got the better of Stefanos Tsitsipas in a hard-fought last-four tie but wrapped up victory over France’s Halys inside an hour in Gstaad.
After the final initially stayed on serve, Berrettini broke to move 4-3 up in the first set and won nine of the next 10 games to add the Swiss Open crown to his Grand Prix Hassan II title in April.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments