Rafael Nadal will play for his first title in more than two years in Bastad, Sweden on Sunday after he rallied for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Croatian qualifier Duje Ajdukovic in Saturday’s semifinals of the ATP 250 Nordea Open.
Nadal trailed by a set and a break against the world No. 130 before roaring back to win in two hours and 13 minutes—a far cry from his four-hour victory against Argentina’s Mariano Navone in Friday’s quarterfinals, but a comeback nonetheless. From 2-2 in the second set, Nadal won seven of the next eight games in a run that looked as though he’d put himself in firm command, but he ultimately staved off a late surge from the first time ATP-level semifinalist.
A fourth win in Sweden moves Nadal into his first tour-level final since he beat Casper Ruud to win Roland Garros in 2022, and he’ll be bidding for his 93rd career ATP singles title and 64th on clay.
“It was a very tough match,” Nadal said afterwards. “He has one of the best backhands that I’ve played against, and he came here with a lot of confidence. I think I was trying to push him back, and it was very, very difficult, but I found a way to survive.
“Always, it’s a great feeling to be back in a final. I won four matches in a row, something I wasn’t able to make happen since two years ago.
“In this process of recovering a lot of things I lost … things have not been going that easy, but I’m fighting. I was fighting during the whole tournament to be where I am today, and I think matches like yesterday, like today, help to improve a lot of things on court. I’m happy with that.”
