Nadal wins doubles match on clay in Bastad alongside Ruud as he prepares for Olympic tournament

By The Associated Press

Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his and Norway's Casper Ruud's round of 16 double match against Mexico's Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela Martinez and Argentina's Guido Andreozzi at the Nordea Open ATP in Bastad, Sweden, Monday, July 15, 2024. (Adam Ihse/TT News Agency via AP)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Adam Ihse/TT]

BASTAD, Sweden (AP) — Rafael Nadal has returned to the clay courts in Bastad for the first time in 19 years by teaming up with Casper Ruud to win a first-round doubles match at the Nordea Open. Nadal won the singles tournament in southern Sweden as a 19-year-old in 2005. This is his first time back since then as he prepares for the Olympic tennis tournament on clay at Roland Garros in Paris. Nadal and Ruud won against second-seeded Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Varela 6-1, 6-4 on Monday in front of a packed crowd that came to see the 38-year-old Spaniard play his first tour match since May, when he lost in the first round of the French Open to Alexander Zverev.