Listen to Story Rafael Nadal made a thunderous return to competitive tennis in the Nordea Open. On Monday, July 15, the Spaniard won his doubles match with Casper Ruud in the Round of 16. The duo defeated second seeds Miguel Reyes-Varela and Guido Andreozzi 6-1, 6-4.
Nadal returned to competing at an ATP 250 event after 19 years and did not take time to adjust to Swedish clay. Back in 2005, Nadal won the singles title when he was 19 years old. With both players showcasing their potent groundstrokes, the wild card duo surged to a decisive 79-minute victory, converting 4 out of 10 break points.
The win sets up an encounter with either the pairing of Mariano Navone and Cameron Norrie or Theo Arribage and Roman Safiullin in the second round. It’s a pleasure playing with a good friend and amazing player like Casper here. It was a good match.
We played quite well for the first time playing together. I am happy to be back here after almost 20 years,” Nadal said after the match. “It’s a beautiful thing for me.
I have great memories from this place from 2003, 2004, and 2005. I’m enjoying this week, and hopefully I’ll keep going,” Nadal added. Nadal & Ruud d.
Reyes-Varela & Andreozzi 6-1 6-4 in Bastad Great to see Rafa & Casper sharing the courtâæ on the same side of the net this time Friends, rivals, & now they’re doubles partners The dream team takes out the #2 seedsâæ not bad for 2 singles players, eh? ðað ̧ð3ðô pic.twitter.com/iOdoNy.