Making first appearance at the ATP Tour 250
event since winning the singles as a 19-year-old in 2005, Nadal
was warming up for his bid for another Olympic medal at the
Paris 2024 Games.
"Many congratulations to Nuno. You've been playing great during
the whole week, so you deserve it more than anyone else here...
It's always special winning a title," the 22-times Grand Slam
champion said.
"I have been here for the week enjoying this amazing place. I
really had fun on court, played some very long matches. Today
wasn't my best day, but all the credit to Nuno. He played very
well and it was so difficult for me, so well done."
Nadal missed almost all of 2023 with a hip problem and his
comeback earlier this year was stalled by a muscle tear, before
small physical issues affected his preparation for the French
Open, where he suffered a first-round exit.
The record 14-times French Open winner then skipped Wimbledon to
prepare for the Olympic tennis tournament, which will take place
at Roland-Garros from July 27-Aug. 4.
Nadal won an Olympic singles gold medal in Beijing in 2008 and a
doubles gold in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics. He will team
up with four-times major winner Carlos Alcaraz, 21, in the
doubles at Paris 2024.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by
Frances Kerry) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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