Bastad Tournament | Rafael Nadal beaten in final by Nuno Borges

(Paris) Rafael Nadal was soundly beaten in the final of the Bastad clay court tournament by Portugal’s Nuno Borges (51)^e) 6-3, 6-2 in less than an hour and a half on Sunday.

The clear defeat of the former world number 1, now 261^e world, against a modest opponent whose first final on the circuit it was at 27 years old is worrying a week before the start of the Olympic Games tennis tournament, in his backyard at Roland-Garros and on his favorite surface.

It was the 38-year-old Majorcan’s first final in two years and his 14th appearance.^e victory at Roland-Garros.

The game started badly for the Spaniard, who conceded his first service game to find himself trailing 2-0.

This first set was a festival of lost serves on both sides, until 4-2 when Borges finally held his to break away 5-2, then win the set 6-3 in 47 minutes.

Nadal showed too much weakness in his serves to hope for anything in this set: 58% first serves with only 40% points won after his first serves, and 36% points won, a pittance, on his serve.

Nadal got a bit better at the start of the second set, where he finally won two service games in a row, despite conceding new break points each time.

But the Portuguese managed the decisive break at 2-2, then the double break at 4-2, to win 6-2 this second set on an ace, and his first title.

Nadal, who had not played since his first-round elimination at Roland Garros on May 27 against future finalist Alexander Zverev, had chosen the modest Bastad tournament for his comeback.

His performances, with the exception of the two-set victory in the second round against the British left-hander Cameron Norrie (42^e), have not lived up to its ambitions.

And more particularly this final where he often seemed heavy and awkward, suffering in the exchange.

With just one week to go until the start of the tennis events at the Olympic Games at the Porte d’Auteuil, the 2008 Olympic champion in Beijing, caught up by his age and his lack of tournaments – only seven due to various injuries – over the past year and a half, has cause for concern.