Nordea Open: Nuno Borges wins maiden ATP Tour title after beating Nadal in straight sets
Jul 21, 2024
Bastad [Sweden], July 21 : The seventh-seeded Portuguese Nuno Borges eased past tennis royalty Rafael Nadal to win his maiden ATP Tour title at the Nordea Open in Bastad on Sunday.
Nuno beat Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2 to clinch victory in the Nordea Open. The seventh-seeded Portuguese displayed a stupendous performance against the 22-time Grand Slam winner, breaking the Spaniard's serve five times to win his maiden tour-level final.
Speaking at the post-match interview, Borges said that it was a 'crazy' moment for him.
"I don't know what to say. I think I was wishing for this moment for a while already. 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," Borges was quoted from ATP as saying.
"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," he added.
Meanwhile, Nadal congratulated Nuno for his maiden win and said that he was a deserving winner.
"Many congratulations to Nuno. You've been playing great during the whole week, so you deserve it more than anyone else here. Congratulations and enjoy your moment, it's always special winning a title. I wish you all the very best for the rest of the season," Nadal said.
"I have been here for the week enjoying this amazing place. I really had fun on court, played some very long matches. Today wasn't my best day, but all the credit to Nuno. He played very well and it was so difficult for me, so well done," the Spaniard added.
Borges was the more consistent player in the final match against Nadal, who delivered a sluggish performance in the game. The 27-year-old Portuguese showed no sign of nervousness as he cliched win against the former No. 1 in the ATP Rankings.
