“No one was in control,” Rafael Nadal delighted after a thrilling victory against Mariano Navone at ATP Bastad quarterfinals

The 38-year-old is competing in his first ATP tournament since his first-round Roland Garros defeat to Alexander Zverev.

“No one was in control,” Rafael Nadal delighted after a thrilling victory against Mariano Navone at ATP Bastad quarterfinals

Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)

For the first time since Wimbledon 2022, Rafael Nadal has reached the semifinal of an ATP event! It took him almost four hours to defeat Mariano Navone, who played in the ATP 250 Nordea Open as a fourth seed. 

The former World No.1, who has been not able to play to his full potential consistently and lost the first set, capitalized on his 5-2 lead in the third set to knock out the Argentine 6-7(2-7), 7-5, 7-5. All three sets lasted for more than an hour. 

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For a moment he was in control. For a few moments, I was in control. In the end, no one was in control. That's the truth. 
Rafael Nadal said after the match 

It was their first meeting on the ATP Tour. Prior to beating the Argentine in what was also the second-longest three-set match of his career, Nadal eased past Britain’s fifth seed Cameron Norrie. 

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The 38-year-old is competing in his first ATP tournament since his first-round Roland Garros defeat to Alexander Zverev. The 22-time Grand Slam champion decided to skip grass-court events, including the Wimbledon, to play the Nordea Open, which is a clay-court event and which is also helping him prepare more for the upcoming Paris Olympics, where he will join Carlos Alcaraz for doubles events. 

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Rafael Nadal admits he lost focus during his four-hour battle against Mariano Navone 

Though Rafael Nadal, who is also playing at the Nordea Open after 19 years, reached the semifinal, his struggles to beat the World No.36 cannot be overlooked. This epic three-set match, however, will also boost Nadal’s confidence. He is dealing with form and fitness issues and whether he can pull off such incredible victories again will be seen when he will take on Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic in the semifinals on July 20.

Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal (Image via Imago)
No, I wasn’t focused the whole time. I was up 5-2, so I lost for some moments the concentration. I was able to hold physically till the end. Let’s see how I am tomorrow. Today I’m alive, and I’m in the semifinals. So that’s super important. I can’t thank enough for all the support here in Bastad.
Rafael Nadal said after the match 

Ajdukovic beat Thiago Monteiro 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the last four. Nadal is also playing doubles matches with Casper Ruud and the pair is set to lock horns with Brazil’s Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos on July 20 in the semifinals.

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