Rafael Nadal has returned to singles action with victory over Bjorn Borg’s son Leo at the Nordea Open in Sweden.
The pairing of the names of the two best men’s clay-courters of the Open era provoked excitement within tennis, although 21-year-old Leo appears unlikely to have a career anything like that of his father.
Ranked 461, Leo was given a wild card for the tournament in Bastad and competed well against his illustrious opponent – who also received a wild card – before succumbing to a 6-3 6-4 defeat.
“Great feelings,” said Nadal in his on-court interview.
“For me it has been a huge honour to play against the son of one of the biggest legends in the history of our sport.
“I think he played quite well, he has a future in front so I wish him all the very best.”
Nadal was playing his first singles match since an opening-round loss to Alexander Zverev at the French Open in May.
