A promising entry of Nadal at the Nordea Open. Russia’s Rublev will start his defence journey

This edition of the Nordea Open in Bastad is unique. And not only thanks to the participation of Rafael Nadal. He entered the tournament on Tuesday. How did he do? Last year’s champion, Rublev, will also make his first appearance in Sweden on Tuesday.

• Nadal the star of the tournament in Bastad
• The Spaniard returned to action with a convincing performance
• Defending champion Rublev will play on Wednesday

Special edition of the Nordea Open

In the post-Wimbledon era, clay is no longer the number one surface. Everyone’s attention is normally slowly turning to the hard surface.

American concrete is coming on the scene, culminating in the last Grand Slam of the season, the US Open. This year is different.

The Olympics, which begin in just a week and a half, are taking place on the slowest surface. So for most players, clay is more sought after than it is under normal conditions.

Russia’s Rublev is not affected by the Olympics . However, as the defending champion of last year’s triumph, he will have his motivation taken care of in Bastad. Should he fail, he will fall further down the rankings. The Moscow native would fall to the bottom of the ATP top ten

He will enter the tournament on Wednesday. His match with Argentine Tirante will be the highlight of the program. Rublev may be the favourite, but the Russian has already shown plenty of upsets in the opening rounds.

But the most watched person in the tournament is someone else. On Tuesday, Nadal made his first appearance here in 19 years.

Nadal in Bastad

The Spanish tennis legend has put everything under preparation for the Olympic Games. His farewell to the Roland Garros venue in Paris did not go quite as he had hoped at the French Open. The Olympics are a wonderful opportunity for a rematch.

Nadal has missed all the tournaments on grass and since the French Open, the Nordea Open is the first opportunity to see him in action. And his opening match was worth it.

Nadal beat Leo Borg in two sets. The son of a famous father tried to speed up the exchanges, but often made mistakes in those attempts.

In the longer exchanges, Nadal was king. He did not let his opponent break point for the whole match and won in less than an hour and a half 6: 3, 6: 4 in the dress rehearsal for the battle under five rings.

The next test for the Mallorca native will be Brit Norrie. He is the tournament’s number five and despite a negative record, Nadal managed to beat him in their last meeting.

But that was a different surface and a different time. The important thing is what Nadal shows on clay these days and weeks.

The Nadal-Norrie match is scheduled for Thursday and it is clear that it will once again have a great crowd. But this tennis player definitely deserves it.

Source: ATP, Nordea Open