Rafael Nadal missed out on a first title in two years after he lost in straight sets to Nuno Borges in the Nordea Open final.
Nadal has not lifted silverware since his French Open triumph in 2022 after a spate of injury problems, which meant he missed the majority of 2023.
The 22-time grand slam champion has been patient with his latest comeback but looked on course to triumph in Bastad after marathon three-set wins over Mariano Navone and Duje Ajdukovic fired him into the final. However, it proved a bridge too far with Borges able to win by a 6-3 6-2 score.
Breaks were exchanged early on between Nadal and Borges, who was competing in his first ever ATP Tour final.
After Borges came through a lengthy first service game to hold, he was able to break Nadal and it sparked a period of five consecutive breaks.
Read more:
-
Why Manchester United want to keep 'very important' Scott McTominay
-
Emma Raducanu knows mixed doubles withdrawal left Andy Murray disappointed
Eventually the Portuguese player halted the run to move 5-2 up and took the opener before Nadal was forced to dig deep at the start of the second set.
Nadal had to save a break point during a 14-minute opening game, but Borges seized his moment to move 3-2 ahead and clinched victory on his first match point with an ace to deny his 38-year-old opponent a long-awaited title after an-hour-and-28-minute battle.
It has still been a productive week for Nadal, who won four matches in a row for the first time since 2022 and had his physical condition tested ahead of representing Spain at the Olympic Games, which take place at Roland Garros later this month.
Matteo Berrettini claimed his second ATP Tour title of the season with a 6-3 6-1 win over Quentin Halys in the Swiss Open final.
Berrettini got the better of Stefanos Tsitsipas in a hard-fought last-four tie but wrapped up victory over France’s Halys inside an hour in Gstaad.
After the final initially stayed on serve, Berrettini broke to move 4-3 up in the first set and won nine of the next 10 games to add the Swiss Open crown to his Grand Prix Hassan II title in April.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here