Both competitors faced deuce on serve early, with Nadal shaking off a slip on the baseline in the third game. The former event champion soon broke for 3-1, constructing a rally that opened the door to finish with a forehand drop shot winner. The Swede—son of Hall of Famer Bjorn Borg—dug in well to keep his deficit to a single break, though couldn’t make inroads on return in seeing Nadal close out the set at love.
A double fault from Borg set up a pair of break points for the 22-time major winner in the opening game of set two. At 30-40, the 21-year-old was overpowered by the weight behind Nadal’s crosscourt forehand to drop serve for a second time. The advantage was all the Spaniard needed to ride out an 85-minute victory.
Nadal is appearing at the ATP 250 clay-court event for the first time since 2005, when he lifted the trophy. The 38-year-old improved to 8-5 on the season, as he looks to build momentum for the Paris Olympics after opting out of the grass-court swing.
Against Norrie, Nadal has won four of five contests. The Brit, however, claimed their most recent meeting at the 2023 United Cup.
