‘I’m defending my Bastad title’

16 July، 2024

31 1 minute read

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Rafael Nadal made a winning start in Bastad, beating Bjorn Borg’s son Leo 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round. The veteran joked after the triumph, saying he is finally defending his Bastad trophy. The truth is, Rafa claimed his only Bastad crown in 2005, never returning to the Swedish ATP 250 event until this week.

The Spaniard ousted the Swede following a solid performance, competing for the first time since Roland Garros and celebrating his first win since May 9 and the Rome Masters. Rafa fell to Alexander Zverev in the first round in Paris, deciding to skip the frass wing and train on clay in Mallorca and Greece.

The king of the slowest surface hopes for a good result in Bastad, his final stop before returning to his beloved Roland Garros for the Olympic Games in Paris in a couple of weeks. Leo performed well, going for shots and landing some impressive winners from his forehand wing.

Rafael Nadal, Rome 2024© Mike Hewitt / Staff – Getty Images Sport

However, the young gun could not challenge the veteran, missing to generate break chances and feeling pressure behind the initial shot. Nadal earned four break opportunities and stole Borg’s serve once in each set, enough to seal the deal and end his losing streak on the beloved surface after two failures.

The pace of the duel was not very high, and Rafa did not have to play better. The Spaniard hit service winners and ended the exchanges with his forehands, overpowering the opponent in the shortest and more advanced exchanges.

Leo gave everything in front of the home fans, producing four comfortable holds in the second set but suffering two breaks from four opportunities presented to the legend. Playing his first singles match after a month and a half, Nadal grabbed the first game of the encounter at love with a service winner.