More of a poster than a match on Tuesday, when Carlos Alcaraz’s second Wimbledon triumph still resonates loudly in the tennis world. But the grass in London has nothing to do with the soft sand of Bastad, Sweden, where Rafael Nadal only needs seriousness and politeness to beat (6-3 and 6-4, in 1h 25m) a young man with a more than illustrious surname; however, on the court, the son, Leo, is a far cry from his father, Björn, a giant who decided to hang up his racket at the age of 26 and with an impressive list of achievements. A mysterious legend who left behind him 11 Grand Slam titles: six Roland Garros titles and five Wimbledon titles. At 21 years old, the descendant has still not managed to win a match on the ATP circuit.
In any case, it was an ideal test for Nadal, who returned after 50 days without playing, since he lost on May 27 in the first round of Roland Garros against the German Alexander Zverev. The Mallorcan (38 years old and 261st in the world) opted to give up the grass tour and concentrate all his efforts on preparing for the Olympic Games in Paris, where the tennis players will compete on clay. The player from Manacor did not want to expose his physique to unnecessary risks or force the transition from one surface to another, so he chose Bastad as a launching pad and he is doing it. On Monday he did a first test in doubles with Casper Ruud and the individual performance left a good impression, although Borg’s resistance was relative.
The Nordic, who once trained seasonally at Nadal’s academy in Manacor, offered some flashes – a good inside-out forehand, a nice lob or a sliced backhand drop shot – and chose the quickest route from the start, aware that in an intermediate or long rally he was at a disadvantage. However, he immediately came up against the size of the opponent. earthling Nadal, who, with his skill, resolved a duel that was summed up in two breaks, one of them in a set, and some positive results. The winner conceded only seven points with his first serve and, apart from a slip when stepping on the baseline and the subsequent fall, he did not suffer any setbacks. Humidity and a training session dressed in competition uniform.
“I felt very good, although the weather conditions are always difficult, but I feel lucky to have the opportunity to play here and to have avoided the rain this day, so I am leaving happy. For me it is an honour to play against the son of one of the greatest legends in the history of our sport,” he said on court, with 24 winners and only five errors on his service record for the day. “It is true that in the toughest moments one can rely on the strength of one’s team, but also feeling the support of the fans is vital to compete at maximum energy,” he continued, knowing that after beating the 461st in the world he will meet the British Cameron Norrie (42nd) in the next round on Thursday. “I need victories to gain confidence,” he concluded.
This is the fourth time that the Manacor native has participated in the Swedish tournament, in the 250 category. The last time he did so was almost two decades ago, in July 2005, and he won. He was 19 years old at the time and beat Juan Mónaco, Beto Martín, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Tommy Robredo and the Czech Tomas Berdych in the final.
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