Borges Downs Nadal For First ATP 250 Title
July 21, 2024 | Men's Tennis, Olympic Games
BASTAD, Sweden, - Mississippi State five-time All-American Nuno Borges claimed his first ATP 250 Tour Championship on Sunday by defeating tennis legend Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2 to win the Nordea Open.
Sunday marked Borges' first finals appearance and is just the fourth person to defeat Nadal in an ATP clay court final joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. The victory earned Borges €579,320 ($630,966.38 U.S.).
"I never thought I would be here playing in a full stadium against 'Rafa' on clay," Borges said. "It is a dream come true. Right now, I'm living in the clouds."
Borges is currently No. 51 in the world but will move to No. 42 when the new rankings are released on Sunday night, which will be a new career-high. He became just the second player from Portugal to ever secure an ATP title along with Joao Sousa.
Sunday's victory marked the 17th professional tournament Borges has won and second this year. He also hoisted the championship trophy for the second-straight year at the 2024 Phoenix Open. Later this week, he will represent Portugal at the Summer Olympics in Paris.
"Right now, I'll just enjoy the moment and thank everyone," Borges said. "I'm kind of speechless holding this trophy. Who would've thought? Tennis is crazy so why not keep going and keep dreaming."
Borges lettered for the Bulldogs from 2016-19 and earned SEC Player of the Year three times as well as being named the 2019 ITA National Player of the Year. He helped lead MSU to back-to-back SEC Tournament titles in 2018 and 2019 and was the 2019 NCAA Singles finalist after being a semifinalist the two previous years. He tops the Bulldog record books in nine different categories including career wins (189) and posted a 25-0 dual match singles record during his senior season.
Borges is one of only two men in program history to hold a No. 1 national ranking in both singles and doubles.
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