RAFAEL NADAL BEATEN IN STRAIGHT SETS IN BASTAD FINAL-Nadal loses to Nuno Borges
Rafael Nadal suffered a setback in his Paris 2024 Olympics pr eparations on Sunday as he was beaten 6-3 6-2 in the Swedish Open final by Portuguese seventh seed Nuno Borges.
The 38-year-old Spaniard was playing his first title match since his 2022 French Open triumph, but saw his serve broken five times in the one-hour and 27-minute contest as Borges won his maiden tour final.
Making first appearance at the ATP Tour 250 event since winning the singles as a 19-year-old in 2005, Nadal was warming up for his bid for another Olympic medal at the Paris 2024 Games.
Nadal missed almost all of 2023 with a hip problem and his comeback earlier this year was stalled by a muscle tear, before small physical issues affected his preparation for the French Open, where he suffered a first-round exit.
The record 14-times French Open winner then skipped Wimbledon to prepare for the Olympic tennis tournament, which will take place at Roland-Garros from July 27-Aug. 4.
Nadal won an Olympic singles gold medal in Beijing in 2008 and a doubles gold in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He will team up with four-times major winner Carlos Alcaraz, 21, in the doubles at Paris 2024.