By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Rafael Nadal made a winning return during his opening game in the ongoing Swedish Open against Leo Borg- 6.3, 6.4- on July 16, 2024, in Bastad, Sweden.
After missing the recently concluded Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament to focus on his preparations for the Paris Olympics, Nadal finally decided to return to a major competition to serve as a tune-up campaign.
Despite missing on some early baseline winners after several unforced errors, Nadal regained his hitting rhythm midway through the first set to dispose Borg in 40 minutes of action.
Nadal caught fire after scoring a breakpoint to halt Borg’s momentum and sealed the 1-0 advantage with another service hold possession en route to a dominating sixth game-set win.
It was a different scenario in the following frame as Borg outworked Nadal in the first few baseline rally exchanges, out-pointing the living legend when he started to successfully score his drop balls.
Aside from his drop balls, Borg displayed a better groundstroke approach that neutralized Nadal’s forehand temporarily.
Just when Borg thought he could ramp up the intensity and steal the momentum away, Nadal adjusted quickly to his game plan and targeted the wide side.
As a result of targeting Borg’s wide court, Nadal received weaker balls that landed on his forehand side, creating more opportunities to score and tally the points.
Nadal completely dominated the set after scoring another crucial break point that fended off Borg’s courageous performance in the second and last set.
Up next for Nadal in the second round of the Swedish Open is the fifth-ranked Cameron Norrie from Great Britain which will take place today.
To secure the second-round qualification, Norrie had to escape a tough challenge from Slovak Jozef Kovalik, 7-6, 6-4.
