Seventh-seeded Nuno Borges captured his first ATP Tour title by posting a 6-3, 6-2 win over Rafael Nadal on Sunday at the clay-court Nordea Open in Bastad, Sweden.
Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion, was making his first appearance in a final since winning the French Open in June 2022. Borges, of Portugal, broke the 38-year-old Spaniard five times, however, and won the match in 88 minutes. Nadal hit just five winners against 19 unforced errors.
“I don’t know what to say. I think I was wishing for this moment for a while already,” Borges, 27, said in his post-match interview. “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.”
Borges will rise nine spots to a career-high No. 42 in the ATP rankings on Monday.
EFG Swiss Open Gstaad
Sixth-seeded Matteo Berrettini of Italy claimed his ninth ATP Tour title following a convincing 6-3, 6-1 win over French qualifier Quentin Halys in the final in Switzerland.
Berrettini, now a two-time winner of the tournament, held a 5-3 lead in the first set before play was suspended for 30 minutes due to rain. Undaunted, he won seven of the next eight games to dispatch Halys in 59 minutes.
Berrettini won 90 percent of his first-serve points to return to the winner’s circle at the event for the first time since 2018.
–Field Level Media
