Seven weeks after losing in the first round of Roland Garros against the German Alexander Zverev, the Spanish Rafael Nadal He returned to competition this Monday in the Bastad tournament (Sweden), with a victory in the men’s doubles pairing with the Norwegian Casper Ruud.
“We played quite well for the first time we played together,” Nadal said after the match.
“I’m very happy to be back here (Bastad) after almost 20 years. I have great memories of this place from 2003, 2004 and 2005. I’m enjoying this week and I hope I can continue to do so,” he added.
Nadal (38 years old) is taking part in this event, which is being played on clay courts abroad, to finalise his preparation for the Paris Olympic Games (from 26 July to 11 August).
In the French capital, at the same Roland Garros complex where he won 14 Mousquetaires Cups, Nadal plans to compete in the singles tournament and in doubles alongside Carlos Alcaraz, winner of the Wimbledon tournament on Sunday.
“It was an incredible day for Spanish sport,” Nadal said of his compatriot’s triumph and Spain’s subsequent victory in the Euro final against England (2-1).
“The Spanish team played a great Euro Cup from the first day to the last. We are very proud, the whole country is,” he added.
Nadal and Ruud defeated the duo formed by the Argentine Guido Andreozzi and the Mexican Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela in two sets, 6-1 and 6-4.
The Spaniard and the Norwegian, one of his top pupils at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca, were far superior in the first set, breaking their rivals’ serve twice.
The second set started off more competitively, until the match was suspended due to rain at 3-3.
Upon the players’ return to the court, Nadal and Ruud, two-time finalists at Roland Garros, gave their opponents no chance to seal the victory in just one hour and 10 minutes of play.
Source: AFP
