By Rafael Nadal and Casper Ruud progressed to the second round of the Swedish Open doubles on Monday with a convincing 6-1, 6-4 win over the second-seeded team of Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela. This match, broadcast live on Sky Sports, marked Nadal’s first return to competitive tennis since May, when he lost to Alexander Zverev in the opening round of Roland Garros. Nadal will face Leo Borg, son of tennis legend Bjorn Borg, in his opening singles match on Tuesday.
Nadal, who won the singles title at this ATP 250 event as a 19-year-old in 2005, expressed his delight at being back on Swedish clay and playing with Ruud. “It’s a pleasure playing with a good friend and an amazing player like Casper here in Bastad,” said Nadal. “Personally, I am happy and I think it was a good match. We played quite well in the first time we played together, and I’m happy to be back here after almost 20 years.”
Nadal also shared his pride in Spain’s recent sporting achievements, including winning the 2024 Euros and Carlos Alcaraz’s Wimbledon victory. “It’s been an amazing day for Spanish sport,” he said.
The match against Andreozzi and Reyes-Varela saw Nadal and Ruud strike their groundstrokes powerfully, leading to a 79-minute victory despite two rain delays. In the second round, they will face either Mariano Navone and Britain’s Cameron Norrie or Theo Arribage and Roman Safiullin.
Ruud joked about the rain delays, saying, “When it comes to the rain delays, I’m used to it more than Rafa, being from Norway and he is from Spain. He is getting old so I’m not sure how his body feels when he has to stop and start all the time, but he did well. We played good doubles, and it was a lot of fun to share the court with Rafa as always.”
In singles action, Britain’s Cam Norrie advanced to the second round with a 7-6 (7-4), 6-4 victory over Slovakia’s Jozef Kovalik. Norrie, the fifth seed, will face the winner of the Nadal-Borg match in the next round. This victory is a positive start for Norrie, who has had a challenging 2024 season with early exits at the Grand Slams and ATP Masters 1000 events.
Norrie is looking to secure his fourth ATP 250 series title, with his last title win dating back to February 2023.
