Rafael Nadal comfortably defeated Leo Borg, son of tennis legend Bjorn Borg, to progress to the second round of the Bastad Open on Tuesday, as he prepares for the Paris Olympics.
This marked Nadal's first singles match since the 38-year-old exited in the opening round at Roland Garros on May 27. Despite wet conditions, Nadal cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Both Nadal and 21-year-old Borg, currently ranked 461st in the world, received wild card entries to the Swedish clay-court tournament.
Although there was an early moment of concern when the former world number one slipped on the damp white line, Nadal broke serve to lead 3-1, firing four aces to secure the first set in 43 minutes.
In the second set, an early break provided the Spaniard with an advantage, securing the match on his second match point after 1 hour and 25 minutes on court, marking his eighth ATP tour match win this season.
"It's good, I'm finally defending my title," joked Nadal, who has not played in Bastad since winning the title aged 19 in 2005.
"I haven't been playing a lot of tennis in the last few months.
"The feelings are great, playing on front of a full crowd means a lot to me and lucky to have been able to play without rain.
"Even in the tougher moments, I have been able to keep going with the help of the team, but of course the fans have a huge impact on that. They give me amazing energy."
The 22-time Grand Slam winner praised his rival, the son of the long-retired former world number one Bjorn Borg, now 68.
"It's a huge honour to play against the son of one of the biggest legends in the history of our sport," said Nadal.
"I think he played quite well, he has a great future in front. I wish him all the very best."
Nadal will next face fifth seed Cameron Norrie in the second round after the British player defeated Slovak Jozef Kovalik 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.
Nadal opted out of Wimbledon to concentrate on the Olympics, which will be held at Roland Garros, where he has claimed 14 French Open titles.
On Monday, Nadal also partnered with Casper Ruud for a doubles victory on clay in Bastad, two weeks before the Paris Games.
Top seed Andrey Rublev begins his campaign on Wednesday against Argentina's 121st-ranked Thiago Tirante.
