Nuno Borges Gets Milestone Win for Portuguese Tennis at the French Open

Nuno Borges only became a pro at 24 years old and for a while, after steadily rising up the ranking, it kind of looked like he had hit a ceiling  as an inconsistent top 50/40 player. But this French Open might well be a turning point in his career that takes him even higher; after surving from 0-2 down in the first round against a French qualifier, Borges got the biggest win of his career so far, beating the recent Madrid champion and two-time Roland Garros finalist Casper Ruud in four sets.

While Ruud was clearly affected by injury, this is a huge win for Borges, who is starting to make a habit of good Slam runs, after making fourth round in New York (losing to Medvedev) and the third round in Australia (losing to Alcaraz). While he clearly lacks the weapons to challenge for big titles, he seems to have at least a great possibility of becoming the highest ranked Portuguese player ever (João Sousa was #28) at some point. After this win, the draw has really opened up for him, with Canada champion Popyrin waiting for him in the next round and then Khachanov or Tommy Paul; given the surface, Borges certainly has an excellent chance against Popyrin and could well make another Grand Slam fourth round here.

What makes this win even more surprising is the fact that Borges was having a really poor clay season with no notable results. However, Wednesday changed everything and with this confidence boost he got from beating Casper Ruud and the draw he has, Borges could well have a memorable run here, one that will be firmly etched in the history of Portuguese tennis. A first ever Portuguese Grand Slam quartefinalist, while still not the most likely outcome, doesn’t look like a pipe dream anymore.