“I fought the whole tournament,” Rafael Nadal delighted to reach his first final since May 2022
Nadal will play No.7 seed Nuno Borges in the final of the Nordea Open.
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Rafael Nadal (via Imago)
On Saturday, Rafael Nadal rallied from a set down to beat Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic to reach his first final since the 2022 Roland Garros. The victory also earned the Spaniard 131st tour-level career final and was happy that he fought deep to earn it at the Nordea Open in Bastad.
The 38-year-old showed resilience yesterday when he overcame Argentina’s Mariano Navone in an almost four-hour marathon match at Bastad. After his victory, he didn’t reveal whether he would play today’s semifinal match due to fatigue. However, he decided to play and despite dropping the serve in the opening match of the first set; he found a way to win.
He broke Duje Ajdukovic’s serve five times in the second and third set. He was very clinical throughout the match, winning the points and causing the Croatian qualifier to suffer. Nadal converted six break points, earning a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win in two hours and 13 minutes. Nadal is on a nine-match winning run at Bastad, which began in 2005 when he won the title.
After the match, he revealed that he had been fighting since the beginning of the tournament and was happy to have reached his first final of the year.
So things aren’t going that easy. But I’m fighting. I fought the whole tournament to be where I am today. Matches like yesterday and today help to improve a lot of things on court. Happy with that. Let’s see if I’m able to play a little better tomorrow.Rafael Nadal said during his on-court interview.
Nadal has now won six consecutive matches for the first time this year at Bastad, both in the singles and doubles combined.
Rafael Nadal excited about playing in a final again after struggles with injury last year
The Bastad tournament will be a great confidence booster for Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard had never been in any final for two years but will be in his first on Sunday. He will play No.7 seed Nuno Borges in the final of the Nordea Open. This will be their first clash ever on the tour.
Nadal struggled with fatigue during the clay season, winning just five matches, but has now played over six hours in just two days. And he doesn’t look worried after winning his first four consecutive matches this season.
It’s always a great feeling to be in a final. I won 4 matches in a row. I wasn’t able to make that happen since 2 years ago. A lot of things happened. That’s the truth. Still in this process of recovering a lot of things I lost because I had a very important hip surgery almost 1 year ago.Rafael Nadal said during his on-court interview
Nadal will be hoping to take this form into the Paris Olympics and perhaps challenge for a medal either in the singles or doubles alongside Carlos Alcaraz.
In case you missed it:
- Rafael Nadal beats Duje Ajdukovic in an exciting matchup to enter his first ATP Final in over 2 years
- American legend Stan Smith identifies Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as “present and future of tennis”
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Victor Okechukwu
(690 Articles Published)