Rafael Nadal returned to singles action with victory over Bjorn Borg’s son Leo at the Swedish Open, live on Sky Sports.
The pairing of the names of the two best men’s clay-courters of the Open era provoked excitement within tennis, although 21-year-old Leo appears highly unlikely to have a career anything like that of his father.
Ranked 461, Leo was given a wild card for the tournament in Bastad and competed well against his illustrious opponent before succumbing to a 6-3 6-4 defeat.
“Great feelings,” said Nadal in his on-court interview.
“For me it has been a huge honour to play against the son of one of the biggest legends in the history of our sport.
“I think he played quite well, he has a future in front of him so I wish him all the very best.”
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Bjorn Borg’s son Leo produced a moment of magic to lob Rafael Nadal in their first-round match at the Swedish Open
Nadal was playing his first singles match since an opening-round loss to Alexander Zverev at the French Open in May.
The 38-year-old decided to stay on clay rather than risk further injury by switching to grass and has been practising with the goal of being at his best for the Paris Olympics later this month.
Nadal should have a stiffer test next against British number two Cameron Norrie, who defeated Jozef Kovalik in the first round on Monday.
Nadal and Norrie will face off live on Sky Sports Tennis on Thursday.
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Nadal will next face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who beat Jozef Kovalik in straight sets to reach the second round of the Swedish Open
Nadal included on US Open entry list – Grand Slam is live on Sky Sports
Nadal was also included on the US Open entry list released on Tuesday via a protected ranking, although that doesn’t necessarily mean he will compete in the year’s last Grand Slam tournament.
The Spaniard has been dealing with injuries the past two seasons and playing sporadically. He is participating in his first tournament in since May this week in Bastad.
Nadal was also included on the US Open entry list released on Tuesday via a protected ranking
The 38-year-old Nadal won four of his 22 Grand Slam titles at the US Open – where play begins on August 26, live on Sky Sports Tennis – in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019. He sat out the event in three of the past four years, losing in the fourth round in 2022.
He is expected to compete at the Paris Olympics, where tennis starts on July 27 and is being held at Roland Garros. But it’s not clear how much – or even if – Nadal will continue to play after that.
The draw to set the brackets for the US Open will be August 22.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
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Find out all the ways to watch tennis on Sky Sports, including the US Open, ATP and WTA tours
In the run-up to the final Grand Slam of 2024 – the US Open – you can watch all of the biggest tennis stars in action live on Sky Sports as they compete across the hard-court season.
- Hamburg Open (ATP 500) 15-21 July
- Newport Hall of Fame Open (ATP 250) 15-21 July
- Swiss Open (ATP 250) 15-21 July
- Bastad Open (ATP 250) 15-21 July
- Palermo Ladies Open (WTA 250) 15-21 July
- Hungarian Grand Prix (WTA 250) 15-21 July
- Prague Open (WTA 250) 21-26 July
- Iasi Open (WTA 250) 21-26 July
- Umag Open (ATP 250) 21-26 July
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