Crazy 24 Hours Has Borges On Brink Of Miami Main Draw

Nuno Borges is a man in a hurry. But success can put a spring in your step when you need to hustle.

Within 24 hours, the Portuguese World No. 68 went from winning the ATP 175 Challenger title in Phoenix, Arizona in America’s south-west to winning a first-round qualifying match at the Miami Open presented by Itau, the ATP Masters 1000 event in south-east Florida.

“When I won that second match on Saturday I knew it would be complicated,” Borges said. “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 final of the Arizona Tennis Classic, it was already 7pm in Miami. He was due on court to play Steve Johnson at 4.30pm Monday.

“We went back to the hotel, got some food, 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 said.

Borges landed in Miami around 11am, headed to the hotel for a quick nap and then took the 2pm shuttle to the site.

“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 said. “Headed to physio, had a quick warm up and somehow played a great match. I felt better than I expected, to be honest. I’ve got a lot of confidence from the matches I played last week and before that.

“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 winning streak at the Challenger level, having also won the title in Monterrey, Mexico. And he is sitting at a career-high in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The top seed in Miami qualifying on Tuesday plays Croatian Borna Gojo for a place in the main draw.