Last chance! Nadal will challenge the son of a tennis legend in Bastad after a break

His farewell to the French Open did not go as he had hoped. Still, the clay court season is not over for good this year. Rafael Nadal returns to the courts this week and will take on the son of a great player in tennis history right from the start.

• Rafael Nadal returns to the tennis courts
• He missed the grass tournaments
• He will play Leo Borg in Bastad

Nadal and his next comeback

The wait seemed endless. The king of clay, Rafael Nadal, delayed week after week his renewed debut on the ATP circuit.

He finally returned in mid-April and managed to play three tournaments before the French Open. He gradually improved, beating, for example, the Australian De Minaur. But in Paris, he was caught by a cruel lottery ticket.

In the opening round he faced the German Zverev, later a finalist at Roland Garros, and lost to him in three sets.

But this season has one more clay court highlight. The Olympic Games, which start at the end of July, will again be held in Paris at the same venue as the French Open.

So the legendary Spaniard will have one more chance to shine at the venues that made him most famous. And he’s adapted everything to it.

Nadal has therefore skipped grass tournaments altogether and will return to the tennis circuit after Wimbledon. Before the Olympics, he will play in Bastad, Sweden, and he already knows his first opponent.

Interesting draw in Bastad

The Nordea Open in Bastad is a traditional event. In recent years, the Russian Rublev and the Norwegian Ruud have triumphed on the clay.

The legendary local tennis player and eleven-time Grand Slam winner Bjor Borg has also won the event three times before. And it is his son who Rafa will face at the very beginning of this year’s edition.

Leo Borg hasn’t quite reached the ranks of his dad. He’s only in the top 100 of the ATP rankings.

Last year, he made a surprising statement here about who his tennis role model is. For that reason, his match with Nadal will be a very closely watched affair.

Both tennis players play in Sweden on a wild card and both have a lot at stake. Their match is scheduled for Tuesday. Get ready. Nadal’s Olympic comeback begins.

Sources: ATP