Rafael Nadal made a triumphant return to the top flight on Monday, teaming with Casper Rudd to beat second seeds Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Reyes-Barrela 6-1 6-4 in the Swedish Open doubles, live on Sky Sports.
Competing in his first ATP 250 since winning the singles title at age 19 in 2005, Nadal quickly established himself on the Swedish clay courts.
The win was Nadal's first official match since losing to Alexander Zverev in the opening round at Roland Garros on May 27. The 22-time Grand Slam winner will face Leo Borg, son of ATP legend Bjorn Borg, in his opening singles match on Tuesday. Sky Sports Tennis.
“It's great to play with a good friend and an amazing player like Kasper in Bastard,” Nadal said in a court interview with the pair. “Personally, I'm happy and I think it was a good match. We played pretty well in our first match together and it's great to be back here after almost 20 years.
“I have a lot of good memories here from 2003, 2004 and 2005, so I hope to enjoy this week and continue to enjoy it in the future.”
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Nadal wins 'amazing' point in return match at Swedish Open with sensational forehand
The Spaniard and Ruud displayed powerful groundstrokes throughout the match, as the wildcard duo claimed victory in 79 minutes despite two rain-interrupted matches.
22-time major winner Nadal and world number eight Ruud will face Mariano Navone and Britain's Cameron Norrie or Theo Arrivaggi and Roman Safilin in the second round.
Nadal made a triumphant return to tennis after losing to Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros on May 27.
“As Rafa said, I think it's a good game. As for the rain delays, I'm more used to it than Rafa because I'm Norwegian and he's Spanish,” Ruud said.
The Norwegian added lightly: “He's old and I'm not sure what his body does when he has to stop and start all the time, but he did well. We had a good double and it was really fun to share the court with Rafa, as always.”
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