Nuno Borges is a person in a rush. But success can put a spring in your step when it’s essential hustle.
Within 24 hours, the Portuguese World No. 68 went from profitable the ATP 175 Challenger title in Phoenix, Arizona in America’s south-west to profitable a first-round qualifying match on the Miami Open introduced by Itau, the ATP Masters 1000 occasion in south-east Florida.
“When I won that second match on Saturday I knew it would be complicated,” Borges mentioned. “There were not many options and the direct flights were fully booked and I knew I had to play Monday. Thankfully I got a late start.”
By the time Borges defeated Alexander Shevchenko in Sunday’s three-set remaining of the Arizona Tennis Classic, it was already 7pm in Miami. He was due on courtroom to play Steve Johnson at 4.30pm Monday.
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“We went again to the lodge, bought some meals, then headed to the airport for a flight at 11.20pm (Pacific time, 2.30am Miami time). Borges landed in Atlanta at 5.30am ET for a 7.10am connection. And then there was a hiccup.
“We got on the plane and we had a 30-minute wait and then we were told we would need to change planes due to a technical issue. For a second I had a thought that I wouldn’t make it to today’s match,” he mentioned.
Borges landed in Miami round 11am, headed to the lodge for a fast nap after which took the 2pm shuttle to the positioning.
“I didn’t properly warm up to be honest. Just got a feel for the court with a 20-30 minute hit at 3,” he mentioned. “Headed to physio, had a fast heat up and someway performed an incredible match. I felt higher than I anticipated, to be trustworthy. I’ve bought a whole lot of confidence from the matches I performed final week and earlier than that.
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“I probably got about 4 ½ hours total sleep. Maybe two hours on the first flight, 90 minutes on the second flight and then an hour’s nap at the hotel.”
Borges is on a 10-match profitable streak on the Challenger stage, having additionally received the title in Monterrey, Mexico. And he’s sitting at a career-high within the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The prime seed in Miami qualifying on Tuesday performs Croatian Borna Gojo for a spot in the principle draw.