Nadal vs. Borg. It’s happening.
No, not Bjorn Borg. Rafael Nadal will kick off his Nordea Open campaign against Borg’s son, Leo, in the opening round on Tuesday. With the 21-year-old Swede having played sparingly on the main tour in the early stages of his career, this is obviously a first-ever meeting between these two famous tennis names.
Borg is 1-7 lifetime at the ATP level, his lone victory coming in round one of this same Bastad tournament last summer (defeated countryman Elias Ymer 7-6(5), 6-3). The world No. 461 spends basically all of his time on the Futures and Challenger Tours, with his best 2024 result being a Futures title on the hard courts of Kingston, Jamaica in late May. Since then he has not won a single main-draw match at any event.
In other words, this is an ideal draw for Nadal as he begins the second half of his clay-court comeback in 2024. The 38-year-old played four tournaments this spring, a stretch that was highlighted by a fourth-round performance at the Madrid Masters. Nadal had to face eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev in round one at Roland Garros and played relatively well despite losing 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion is making his fourth appearance in Bastad, where he played between 2003 and 2005. He reached the quarterfinals twice before lifting the trophy in ’05. In addition to seeking another title, Nadal will be eager to get some more clay-court matches under his belt in advance of the upcoming Paris Olympics. An inspired Spaniard should have no trouble making quick work of an inexperienced opponent who will definitely be feeling a lot of pressure in this kind of situation.
Pick: Nadal in 2
