Nuno Borges, ranked 51st in the world, defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2 to win the Swedish Open in Bastad.
This loss marks Nadal’s first final appearance since 2022, where the 22-time Grand Slam champion experienced a significant defeat. The 38-year-old Spaniard, who has been troubled by injuries in recent years, has dropped to 261 in the rankings and chose to skip Wimbledon this summer to focus on the Olympics.
In his first ATP final, Borges took the opening set in 46 minutes and secured the second set with three consecutive games to clinch the victory.
“It’s crazy. 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,” said Borges, who is 27. “I was wishing for this moment for a while already. I’m just really happy overall. I really don’t know what to say. I’m very emotional.”
The Olympic tennis tournament is set to commence in Paris on July 27.
Nadal has stated that competing at Roland Garros, where he has won 14 French Open titles, remains his “main goal” for this year.
