"I have Fedal and now Ruudal": Rafael Nadal jokes about a new nickname with protege Casper Ruud reminiscent of his rivalry with Roger Federer

Rafael Nadal remembered his rival Roger Federer when he was told about the new name the fans had given to his and Casper Ruud's pair which was similar to the nickname given to his pair with the Swiss.

Nadal is currently competing at the Nordea Open to prepare for the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. The event will be held at Roland-Garros meaning that it will be played on clay. The 38-year-old skipped the grass swing following his disappointing campaign at the European clay swing where he was a shadow of his former self to carry on his preparations.

On the other hand, Ruud, who had a fairly decent run at the European clay swing winning in Barcelona and Geneva, reaching the final in Monte-Carlo, and the final four at the French Open, returned to clay after Wimbledon in Bastad. The Norwegian doesn't play doubles usually but admitted that he couldn't say no when asked by the 22-time Major champion.

The duo kicked off their run with a comfortable 6-1, 6-4 win against Miguel Angel-Reyes Varela and Guido Andreozzi. In the quarterfinals, they played Roman Safiullin and Theo Arribage and managed to win the topsy-turvy match 6-4, 3-6, 12-10 in an hour and 33 minutes.

During the on-court interview, Nadal was told about the nickname fans had given to his pair with Rudd: 'Ruudal'. The Spaniard hilariously was unable to grasp what the name meant but eventually got it. He joked how he already had 'Fedal', his pair with Roger Federer, and now 'Ruudal'.

“What?”

“Ruudal,” the interviewer said.

“What is this?”

“It's Ruud and Nadal, Ruudal.,” the interviewer repeated.

“Ah okay (laughs). Yeah, I didn't know mate. But, well, I mean I have Fedal and now Ruudal, so both!”

The duo is into the semifinals where they will play the winner of the match between the team of Piotr Matuszewski and Pavel Kotova and the team of Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos.

Rafael Nadal reaches R2 in singles, Casper Ruud stunned in R2 at the Nordea Open

Rafael Nadal reaches R2 in Bastad (image source: Getty)

Rafael Nadal has successfully made it into the second round of the Nordea Open. The Spaniard faced Bjorn Borg's son Leo in the opening round and managed to completely decimate the young Swede 6-3, 6-4 in an hour and 25 minutes. He will face fifth seed Cameron Norrie in the second round. The Brit defeated Jozef Kovalik 7-6(4), 6-4 to kick off his campaign.

The two men have faced each other five times so far in their careers with Nadal leading their head-to-head 4-1. However, their most recent meeting came at the 2023 United Cup where Norrie prevailed.

Casper Ruud, meanwhile, who had received a bye in the opening round as a result of being the second seed, was knocked out by Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 6-3. The Brazilian had ousted Federico Coria 6-1, 6-3 in the opening round.