For Rafael Nadal, on Thursday at the Nordea Open the competition level improved from world No. 461 Leo Borg. Nonetheless, the result was pretty much the same.
After opening in Bastad with a 6-3, 6-4 win over the son of the all-time great, Nadal defeated world No. 42 Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 in round two. The 38-year-old came back from 4-1 down in the second set to secure a quarterfinal spot in one hour and 43 minutes.
Nadal’s second-set comeback was highlighted by a stretch of 14 consecutive points as part of a five-game run from 1-4, 6-4.
“Great feelings,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said. “I’ve been a while without playing on the tour, since Roland Garros. To have the chance to compete well against a great player like Cameron is a great feeling. I think I played in some moments good tennis, in some moments I need to play a little bit more aggressive, but that is part of the journey today.
“I haven’t been competing very often, so matches and victories like today help. To be in rhythm the whole match and hold the pressure on the opponent the whole match, that’s something that I need to improve, because I didn’t play enough.
“I said to myself, ‘OK, it’s 1-4, but it could be 4-1 for me, too, so I just need to keep doing the things that I am doing.’ I probably played a little bit more aggressive with my backhand, which I think at the end of the match worked a little bit better. That makes the difference. With the forehand I am quite happy–and with the serve, too.”
Nadal will meet fourth-seeded Mariano Navone in the Bastad quarters on Friday. Having previously never played a match at tour level, Navone is 14-11 this season and up to No. 36 in the rankings. A two-time runner-up on the ATP Tour (Rio de Janeiro and Bucharest), the 23-year-old Argentine got a bye this week as the fourth seed and then dismissed Sumit Nagal 6-4, 6-2.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.