Nuno Borges: Building legos, facing Nadal, Cirque du Soleil & more

Nuno Borges defeated Thanasi Kokkinakis in straight sets on Thursday to reach the third round of the US Open for the first time. The Portuguese star, who made the fourth round at this year's Australian Open, will now face #NextGenATP Czech Jakub Mensik for a place in the second week of the season’s final major.

“I'm feeling pretty good. I think things have been going really smooth,” Borges said. “I know the results look a little bit like that, but during the match, a lot goes on in your head, and it wasn't as straightforward as it seems, but I'm really happy.

“My last two Slams weren't that great, and a new opportunity came. Happy to be in the third round. It feels amazing. It's been a really good year. I haven't been able to come this far in the U.S., and it's a Slam that means a lot to me.”

ATPTour.com caught up with Borges to learn why he loves New York and find out more about his hobbies and personalities off the court.

If you could go to dinner with three people, who would they be and why?
Three people I have admired a lot. I'll choose Roger [Federer] because he's my tennis idol. I'll choose LeBron [James] just because he's an amazing athlete. I wish I could get to meet him, and then I don't know, Elon Musk, the richest guy. I think it could be cool. Gotta go big, right?

If you could switch places with someone for one day, who would it be and why?
I wouldn’t. I don’t think I would. I would have to think about that a lot. I really like where I'm at right now. I'd like to maybe trade not somebody specific, but somebody that I really have no idea what their culture looks like, someone maybe in Africa like Mozambique, they speak Portuguese, just to get to see a different side of things, I don't think I've ever really seen that part of the world, and I think it'd be really cool to know.

What is something you think people might not know about you, that you find interesting?
I like to build Legos. I like to bake cakes. I like to do crafty things, like building fake tents with my cousins and pretend like we're hiding and stuff like that. Silly things, honestly, and then maybe when I show my competitive side on court, you don't really get to see that much.

How often do you build legos?
When I go home, so not often. If I do settle for like a week, I try to get one done, and I like to do the big ones.

What are your biggest hobbies off the court, outside of legos?
Puzzles. I like to do puzzles. I just watch a lot of shows. It's easy to do because always on the go. You can watch it on the plane and I've been reading some manga as well. I try to avoid the blue screen a lot, so the reading part, it helps my eyes a little bit, stay a little more relaxed. It keeps me distracted from tennis.

I like to play cards and table games a lot, but you don't have those all the time. I try to mix it up. I think I get tired really easily. I don't know, Connect Four. Tic Tac Toe, the game is beaten, basically, there's no point. I don't think anybody has the patience to play chess. I like to play. And video games, I guess.

What's the coolest perk of being a tennis player?
We got to go [in Montreal] to the Cirque du Soleil, that was amazing. I've heard about them a lot of times because they've been in Portugal as well, and I finally got to see them the first time I came to Canada. I saw the opportunity was there, so I took it. It was amazing. I loved the whole thing and those people are crazy. They're talented.

What are your favourite memories in New York?
I really enjoyed the grass at Forest Hills. I remember going to Cary Leeds as well, to hit with some guys and some kids. I think we played some mixed doubles, and then some doubles where I would play with a kid and the other player would play with a kid. Those are good memories, though, that has a lot of fun. Remember this weather, the heat during this time, and all the chaos in New York, spending hours on the bus and then going to Times Square just to sightsee, because just being there feels like a fun thing to do, just looking at the screens for like 30 minutes, because we don't have that sort of stuff back home, not even close.

I think that’s what separates New York from a lot of other places. All the things going on, the taxis, all the ambulances going all the time, and all the buzzing and people honking, the Intercontinental, the Grand Hyatt in juniors, those two hotels. Staying on the 18th floor and feeling like I'm in the sky. Going to the Empire State Building.

I haven't been able to go on the river cruise. I would love to do that, but it takes a little more time. The Empire State Building was right across the street. We went to the top. Maybe not the very, very top, but maybe the 101st floor, something like that. And I went there maybe a couple times. That's an amazing view. I remember looking at the Statue of Liberty. It looks like this small, and I'm gesturing a very small thing, looking from so far. It looks so small, but then you go there, and it's huge. In a very big city, everything looks relatively small.

You've been to a lot of places, but if there's one place you could visit, where would it be?
Thailand. My girlfriend has told me great things about Thailand, and she's telling me to go, and she usually doesn't want me to go to a new country that she's been to just because we're in a competition to see who goes to the most countries. But because she's saying to go to Thailand, that means it's really good, so big expectations.

Watch Borges vs. Nadal Highlights:

What was your pinch-me moment on Tour?
I've had a couple when I beat Grigor Dimitrov in Australia third round, that was a pinch-me moment. And then also recently, against Nadal in Bastad, completely a pinch-me moment. Even just warming up with Nadal, I was [thinking how] I used to watch him so many times on TV, and then all of a sudden he was on the other side of the net. So it was a pinch-me moment, for sure,

When you were shaking hands, what was that like?
He was really welcoming, so it was really nice throughout, just very classy and respectful. It kind of came easy. And obviously I had the win. [It is] easier for the winner and he's not a sore loser at all. So he made it easy for me to embrace the moment, enjoy the title. All that was going on that I wasn't really processing, then I just kind of closed my eyes and went for it.

As a tennis fan, if you could have been part of any match in history, which match would that be?
I was going to think of a really quick one, or a really long one, but I don't know if at the same time I would want to be that guy. But I think that final in Australia, I remember both Novak and Nadal had to sit down on a chair after that final. It was six and a half hours or so, and I wonder how it felt on their feet, on their racquet, the whole emotions going through that final.

If you could achieve one thing on or off the court, what would it be?
It's not like I don't have any more goals, but I've exceeded my expectations so much. I feel really happy where I'm at right now. So me conquering an ATP title has already been way more than I've ever imagined. And after college, I never knew I was going to be Top 100. So all those things are already past me. I don't know, winning a Slam would be incredible, but I feel like I'm very far from that. Got to take one step at a time, just like I've been doing, and maybe aim for an ATP 500 now.

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