Former world number one
Rafael Nadal of Spain and Norway’s tennis star
Casper Ruud have been handed a tough draw in the upcoming
Bastad Open. The competition, which begins on Monday, will see a number of top players compete to secure the ultimate prize.
Nadal, who is already regarded as the greatest player in the
history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era after having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles in his illustrious career, has been handed a tough draw in the doubles category. He is set to partner Ruud. The pair
will face the duo of Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela and Argentina’s Guido Andreozzi.
It seems that Nadal’s decision to play in the doubles
category is to prepare for the upcoming Paris Olympics, where he will be teaming
up with world number three Carlos Alcaraz. The mega-event will be played from
July 26 to August 09 in the capital city of France, where thousands of athletes
will participate to secure glory for their respective sports in different
sports.
The doubles event is not the only category in which Nadal will participate
in Bastad. The 37-year-old will also participate in the singles category, where he
will face Sweden’s Leo Borg. It will be interesting to see how Nadal will
perform in the upcoming event, especially while participating in two different
categories at the same event. Nadal has struggled with fitness concerns since returning from a lengthy injury layoff. However, his return did not go as planned, as he was again injured during the Brisbane
International.
Nadal did return to the court just before the start of the Barcelona
Open but could not produce a consistent result. His most recent appearance was
in the French Open, where he was knocked out after losing in the first round to
Germany’s Alexander Zverev in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6, 6-3.