Rafael Nadal won 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday against Leo Borg on the clay courts of Bastad, Sweden, for his first singles match since his elimination in the first round of Roland-Garros.
A quiet victory for “Rafa”
Apart from a small scare at the very start of the match when he slipped without consequences on a wet white line, the former world number 1 dominated without forcing the son of the Swedish legend Bjorn Borg, 21 years old and 461e worldwide, in 1 hour and 26 minutes.
The Spaniard with 22 Grand Slam titles, who has an invitation to Bastad, was content to break his opponent’s serve once in the first set, and a second time from Borg’s first serve in the second set.
The latter, despite some nice flashes of brilliance, notably with his forehand, was never able to turn the match around.
A tough second round against Norrie
“Rafa”, 38 years old, currently 261e world champion, returned to the courts on Monday in doubles action with Norwegian Casper Ruud, beating Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela 6-1, 6-4.
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Nadal, who has not played since his first-round defeat at Roland Garros against eventual finalist Alexander Zverev, will face Briton Cameron Norrie, seeded No. 5, in the next round.
The Majorcan has his sights set on the Olympic Games tournament which will be played on the clay courts of Roland-Garros (July 27-August 4).
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