Nadal partners with Ruud to win doubles opener in Bastad

Playing for the first time since losing in the first round of the French Open to Alexander Zverev, Spain’s Rafael Nadal made a successful return to the ATP Tour as he partnered Casper Ruud to a first round win at the Nordea Open in Bastad.

Nadal and Ruud upset the second seeds Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela/ Guido Andreozzi 6-1, 6-4 in a rain-delayed match. The win moves them into the Spanish/ Norwegian duo into the quarter-finals to face Theo Arribage/ Roman Safiullin or Mariano Navone/ Cameron Norrie.

This is only the fourth time since the Indian Wells Masters in 2017 that Nadal has played doubles in a non-team ATP event. The Spaniard has planned to team up with Carlos Alcaraz, who won the Wimbledon singles title on Sunday, in the men’s doubles event at the upcoming Paris Olympics.

Nadal will be back on the court on Tuesday when he faces Leo Borg, the son of Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg, in the first round of the singles event. Ruud, who is seeded second in the singles draw, has a first round bye and will meet Federico Coria or Thiago Monteiro in the second round.

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