Nuno Borges wins his first title in Bastad against Nadal | ATP Tour

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Borges wins his first title in Bastad against Nadal

The 27-year-old Portuguese is the second ATP Tour champion from his country

July 21, 2024

Nuno Borges wrote his name into the history of the ATP Tour on Sunday at the Nordea Open, becoming only the second player from his country to win a title after Joao Sousa.

The seventh seed made his debut in style, against the greatest player in history on the surface where the ATP 250 in Bastad is played, Rafael Nadal. The Portuguese won 6-3, 6-2 after a solid performance in one hour and 27 minutes.

“I don’t know what to say. I think I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” Borges said in the interview on court after the match. “It’s incredible, in tennis sometimes it doesn’t happen as you expect. I know we all wanted Rafa to win, a part of me wanted that too, but today there was something bigger in me.”

“It wasn’t about playing my best tennis, but about getting to the important moments where I wanted to and I couldn’t have played better. I’m very happy overall. I don’t know what to say, I’m very excited,” added the Portuguese.

First crown #ATPTour! 👑

🇵🇹 @nunoborges97 isn’t following anyone. Autodesk_new He opens his record in Bastad against Nadal, after winning the final 6-3, 6-2.

🎥 @TennisTV | @NordeaOpen

pic.twitter.com/y3NZDqM038

— ATP Tour in Spanish (@ATPTour_ES) July 21, 2024

Borges was the most consistent player in the first Lexus ATP Head2Head match against the 22-time Grand Slam champion, who was unable to find the level that helped him overcome Mariano Navone or Duje Ajdukovic in the previous two rounds.

At 27 years old, he showed that he did not hesitate to lift his first ATP Tour crown in his first final and against a former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

As had been the case throughout the tournament, Nadal had trouble holding his serve and Borges took advantage of this, winning 72% of the return points on the Spaniard’s second serve (13/18) according to Infosys ATP statistics.

With his victory in the Bastad final, he is assured of climbing nine spots in the PIF ATP Rankings to a career-high of World No. 42. He is the ninth player to win his first trophy this 2024 season so far.

For his part, the Spaniard says goodbye to Bastad having completed a positive week, in which he has linked five matches and played his first final since Roland Garros 2022. At 38 years old, with a record of 11-6 this year, he will continue his path at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“Congratulations, Nuno,” Nadal added at the trophy ceremony. “You have played very well all week, so you deserve this more than anyone here. Congratulations and enjoy your moment, it is always special to win a title. I wish you all the best for the rest of the season.”

“I’ve been here all week enjoying this amazing place. I’ve had a lot of fun on court, I’ve played some really long matches. Today wasn’t my best day, but all credit goes to Nuno. He played really well and it was tough for me, so well done,” he said.