Rafael Nadal has started the hot phase of his Olympic preparations with a doubles victory in Bastad. Around one and a half months after his first-round exit at the French Open, the 38-year-old Spaniard returned to the ATP tour with a solid win alongside Norwegian Casper Ruud. The duo won 6:1 6:4 against Guido Andreozzi/Miguel Reyes-Varela (ARG/MEX).
Nadal has skipped the grass season and is instead using the clay court tournament in Sweden to prepare for the Olympic Games in Paris. Physically, he feels “good, more or less okay,” said the Spaniard. He has had a good month of training and is looking forward to playing on clay.
At the Olympics in Paris, Nadal wants to compete in singles and doubles alongside Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz. The 22-time Grand Slam tournament winner has already won the gold medal in his career in both singles (2008 in Beijing) and doubles (2016 in Rio de Janeiro with Marc Lopez).
Nadal’s last match to date was on May 27 at the French Open, where he lost to eventual finalist Alexander Zverev in three sets. In singles, he will first face Swedish youngster Leo Borg – the son of former tennis star Björn Borg – in Bastad on Tuesday.
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