Nuno Borges Turns the Tables and Defeats Wawrinka at the Bucarest Open

Nuno Borges defeated Stan Wawrinka in three sets, 3/6, 7/5, and 6/2, in the first round of the ATP Bucarest Open, in a match that lasted over two hours, after losing the first set to the Swiss player.

In the opening round match of the Romanian tournament, which marked the debut of the top-ranked Portuguese player as a seed in an ATP event, Borges seemed somewhat lethargic against a player who once ranked in the top 3 globally and is currently 86th in the ATP rankings.

Taking advantage of this, Wawrinka broke Borges’ serve twice and closed out the first set at 6/3.

In the second set, both players managed to hold their service games without much difficulty until 5-5. Borges served to go up 6-5, and then he broke Wawrinka’s serve at the right moment for a 7/5 set win.

In the decisive set, after squandering break points in the first two games against Wawrinka, Nuno Borges finally broke the Swiss player’s serve on the third attempt, reaching 4-2 and confirming the break with a white-wash service game that brought him close to victory at 5-2.

Fueled by the comeback, Nuno Borges closed out the match shortly after, on his first of three match points, wrapping up another clean game, this time on Wawrinka’s serve.

In the next round, Borges will face the Frenchman Corentin Moutet (92nd), who defeated Denis Shapovalov 6/4 and 6/2.