Watch:Rafael Nadal triumphs in Swedish Open doubles with Casper Ruud, marking a significant achievement ahead of his …
“I think we had a good time,” Nadal said. “It turned out to be an emotional match in the end, with a high level of tennis against two strong players.
“We really enjoyed it, and the crowd was incredible. Having a full crowd for a doubles match is fantastic. I’m just enjoying every single day here.”
Nadal and Ruud secured an early break in the first set and maintained their serve to claim the opening set, much to the delight of the crowd.
In the second set, Arribage and Safiullin quickly took a 3-0 lead, but Nadal and Ruud fought back to level at 3-3. The French pair, however, managed to break serve in the eighth game, forcing the match into a decisive tie-breaker.
Nadal and Ruud fought off a match point at 9-10 down, then won the following two points to clinch victory.
“When you can’t win in singles, you have to aim for doubles,” Ruud joked, referring to his earlier singles loss to Thiago Monteiro on Wednesday.
“It wasn’t the best start to the day, but finishing with a win alongside Rafa was special today in doubles. We were fortunate to save a match point, and now we’re eager for the next match.”
