"It could've been way worse" - Nuno Borges talks facing Rafael Nadal in his last tour final, Ronaldo vs Messi comparison & more (Exclusive)
Portugal's Nuno Borges interestingly played against Rafael Nadal in the Spaniard's last ATP Tour final. This happened on July 21, 2024, on the claycourt of Bastad Tennis Stadium at the Swedish Open.
Borges, seeded seventh, managed to overcome 38-year-old Nadal in straight sets (6-3, 6-2) to lift his maiden tour-level title.
The Portuguese worked his way up to the top echelons of men's tennis through the NCAA circuit in the US. He represented the Mississippi State University from 2015-19 and was the NCAA singles runner-up in his farewell year.
Nuno Borges most recently competed at the 2025 Australian Open and remained in contention till the third round, where he faced third seed Carlos Alcaraz at Rod Laver Arena, having defeated Frenchman Alexandre Muller and local Jordan Thompson in the previous rounds.
The 27-year-old proudced a spirited effort against Alcaraz but lost 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-2. On the sidelines of the Melbourne Major, Sportskeeda had the opportunity to sit down him for an excluisve chat and learn about his personal and professional lives.
Nuno Borges Exclusive
Sportskeeda: Would you like to be the crowd favorite in a big stadium like Rod Laver Arena?
Nuno Borges: I’ve been the crowd favorite a few times, maybe not like when playing against a Top 10 guy. But yeah, I mean who doesn’t. Maybe a few guys like to be the underdog and have the crowd against them, almost like a reason to get upset. [Novak] Djokovic, I guess, holds on to that towards his side, it’s great energy if you know how to use it. But I also feel like when you have the crowd on your side, it’s a big boost. Against Thompson, I don’t think the Australian crowd wasn’t too rough on me. Thankfully, I haven’t had too many hard situations, maybe like at the Davis Cup, it’s a little more intense and people are trying to get in your head a little more. And I think it’s good to learn how to play on both sides. And to be the crowd favorite in these big tournaments, it means a lot, it means the people recognize, see what you’ve been doing and they just like your personality or whatever you do on the court, maybe a few trick shots, hot shots and they capture a lot of attention sometimes. I don’t try to be the villain, no.
Sportskeeda: You played Rafael Nadal in his life tour final last year…
Nuno Borges: That crowd was actually not bad at all. It could’ve been way worse. I told them myself that a part of me wanted him to win too but the crowd… I just kept playing, I was so focused during the match that I didn’t realize.
Sportskeeda: Obviously, taking nothing away from you, would that win have meant more if you did it against say prime Rafa?
Nuno Borges: I mean, in terms of level, yes. But in the end, I gotta take every match as it is. Every match is different, so the same way I try not to put too much expectations on me because even if it’s the place sometime or I was feeling good in the previous match, doesn’t mean it’s gonna be feeling good the next one. I just try to read the situation as it is and I thought I did a great job in that situation to deal with it and not let the pressure like, ‘Okay, Rafa is not playing his best but I can still play my best and have my chances.’ I of course thought that if prime Rafa was playing the other side, I probably wouldn’t have had a shot, just like everybody else didn’t when he was playing his best. But in that scenario, I knew he had spent more hours on court than I did. I believed that somehow I have a shot. But I do think I wouldn’t have been good enough to play him at his best. I was very thankful for the opportunity to play against him and happy for the amazing win it was for me. It meant a lot.
Sportskeeda: What do you like to after a match?
Nuno Borges: I like to go into the ice bath… go to the bike, cycle a little bit, cool down and then actual very cool down on the ice bath. Get some food and then I’ll try to go and do something out of tennis. Maybe go sightsee a little bit. Also, even if it’s feeling okay I try to go recover with the physio, few tweaks here and there, spent an hour, hour and a half on that and then chill.
Sportskeeda: By now, no one's unaware of your love for puzzles, do you have any favorites that you've solved or you want to?
Nuno Borges: Maybe a few Legos. I like to do a few Legos but the jigsaw puzzles are the ones that I do the most. The setup is tough here, try to wait until I go back home.
Sportskeeda: Do you have any pets at home?
Nuno Borges: No. I’ve always lived in an apartment. The only pet that I’ve had was my grandparents had a fish, orange fish and it would keep jumping off the aquarium.
Sportskeeda: Surprise us if you like but... Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi?
Nuno Borges: (Laughs) Come on! Ronaldo.
Sportskeeda: But you missed his prime, you were in the US, playing college tennis...
Nuno Borges: That’s okay. I followed. Ronaldo every day of the week. I think… it’s impossible to compare but, like Rafa and Roger [Federer] and then Ronaldo and Messi, one is like pure talent and everything goes easy and toys with the players, which is not true but people see it that way. And then, Rafa is like pure work and ethic and grit, Ronaldo is a little bit that, which is funny because I always, from tennis perspective, I always idolized Roger more, he was always my favorite, then Ronaldo is my favorite on the football field. I don’t know why but I think they’re both great examples, both in work ethic and talent. But when you compare them in terms of their biggest rivals, it looks the other way around. I think Ronaldo is a lot more relatable than Messi because whatever Messi does with his feet is incomparable, nobody can do that. But Ronaldo is pure work and belief, of course, he’s very very talented too, but people might dream of becoming that if they work really hard.
Sportskeeda: Who would you compare Djokovic with, in football?
Nuno Borges: We always saw Roger and Rafa because they showed up first. I think it’s hard to put him somewhere on the edge but maybe somewhere in between. I don’t know, maybe Novak is just, in terms of numbers, the very best now with winning the Olympic gold. He’s done it all, more than the other two did but also a little younger than the other two, known for being very cold under pressure, winning some crazy matches under huge amount of pressure. Just an amazing complete athlete.