Nadal wins first tennis match in two months at Swedish Open

Rafael Nadal is back in the winners’ circle on the ATP Tour, with the Spaniard defeating Sweden’s Leo Borg 6-3, 6-4 at the Swedish Open on Tuesday.

The 22-Grand Slam champion, who will be competing at the Olympics in Paris in less than two weeks’ time, was playing his first match since the French Open in May.

Nadal was rusty at first against the son of Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg, but he found a high level as the match went on to dispatch the 21-year-old in less than an hour and a half.

Nadal’s odds of winning his first title since the 2022 French Open have now improved to +450, putting him behind Casper Ruud (+175) and defending champion Andre Rublev (+333).

Movement looking good for Nadal in comeback match

Whether or not Nadal wins this week in Bastad is a moot point, as his participation is really about getting in form for the upcoming Olympics.

Signs were promising for the Spaniard, who appeared to be moving unimpaired across the course of the match. He even took a tumble behind the baseline early on and bounced back with no issue.

The 38-year-old, who has been hampered by injury issues the past two years, did look cautious on serve. His maximum speed on the first serve was 200km/h, with his average sitting at 183km/h.

Regardless, Nadal did not face a break point across the clash, instead breaking Borg once in each set for a straightforward win.

“For me, it has been a huge honour to play against the son of one of the biggest legends in the history of our sport,” he said.

“I think he played quite well, he has a great future in front. I wish him all the very best.”

The ever-popular Nadal also paid tribute to the Swedish crowd, saying they help motivate him to train.

“Playing in front of a full crowd means a lot to me. It gives me energy to keep practising every day,” he said.

“Even in the tougher moments, I have been able to keep going with the help of the team, but of course the fans have a huge impact on that.

“They give me amazing energy.”

Nadal is paying +800 with tennis bookmakers to win his second singles gold medal at the Olympics in Paris.

He sits in the fifth line of betting, behind Carlos Alcaraz (+200), Jannik Sinner (+275), Novak Djokovic (+300) and Alexander Zverev (+500).

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