Nadal impresses Ruud: "The older he gets, the more I can't understand how his body holds up."

Casper Ruud and Rafael Nadal know each other very well. A great admirer of the Spaniard, the Norwegian even trained at his academy for a long time before establishing himself as one of the leading players on the circuit.

Seeded number 2 in Bastad, Ruud didn't need to think twice before agreeing to play doubles alongside the King of clay.

Playing against Guido Andreozzi and Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela, the two clay-court specialists needed just 1h19 to win (6-1, 6-4).

In a match interrupted several times by rain, they remained serious right to the end.

On this subject, the world number 9 was impressed: "It was an incredible and very enjoyable experience. As a Norwegian, I'm more used to rain interruptions than Rafa, who is Spanish.

Besides, the older he gets, the more I can't understand how his body holds up with all these hazards, but all in all, I must say he did very well."