Nuno Borges of Portugal played the match of his life to win the first ATP championship in his career by convincingly defeating veteran Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2 in the Swedish Open final. With this win, Borges rises to a career-high ranking of No. 42 in the world.
The athlete said after his victory: “I don’t know what to say. I think I was wishing for this moment for a while already.”
He added: “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. Through all the emotions, through all the ups and downs… It wasn’t about playing my best tennis, it was just coming up in the big moments where I wanted, and I couldn’t have played better. I’m just really happy overall. I really don’t know what to say, I’m very emotional.”
What happened to Nadal?
Due to his history of ailments, Rafael Nadal has previously stated that this would probably be his final season on tour. The athlete made it clear after losing in the French Open first round that, should his body continue to heal, he is open to continuing his career.
Though he was participating in his first final since the 2022 French Open, Nadal, who moved up 100 spots to world No. 161, might have been worn down after winning two massive three-set matches in the previous two rounds.
In recent news, it was said that Rafael Nadal decided not to play on the grass courts of Wimbledon this year in order to have more time to prepare for the Paris Olympics, which will be held on Roland Garros clay. The 22-time grand slam champion will play Carlos Alcaraz, the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion, in the singles and doubles events.
Source: CNN