Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal has reached the finals of the Nordea Open, marking his first title clash in over two years.
Nadal secured his spot with a hard-fought victory over Duje Ajdukovic in a semifinal match that lasted two hours and 13 minutes. Nadal triumphed with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, according to the ATP’s official website. This achievement comes as his first tour-level championship match since winning his 14th French Open title in 2022, where he defeated Casper Ruud.
After a four-hour marathon win against Mariano Navone on Friday, Nadal needed time to recover and prepare for his first ATP head-to-head clash with Croatian Ajdukovic. Despite losing the first set and dropping serve early in the second, Nadal rebounded strongly, breaking Ajdukovic’s serve five times in the second and third sets to clinch the victory.
Reflecting on the match, Nadal said, “It was a tough match. My opponent had one of the best backhands that I played against. He came here with a lot of confidence. I think I was trying to push him back. It was very, very difficult, honestly, but I found a way to survive and be through to that final after a long time without being in a final. So that is great news and I’m very happy with that,” as quoted by ATP’s website.
Nadal managed to secure the win despite relinquishing a double-break lead in the final set. His consistency, especially in return games, was evident as he converted all six break points he earned against Ajdukovic.
Nadal expressed joy at returning to a final after two years of battling injuries, saying, “Always, it is a great feeling to be back in a final. I have won four matches in a row, something I have not been able to make happen since two years ago. A lot of things happened, but still, in this process of recovering, a lot of things I lost because I had a very important hip surgery almost one year ago.”
He added, “Things were not going that easy, but I am fighting. I am fighting during the whole tournament to be where I am today, and I think matches like yesterday’s, like today’s, help to improve a lot of things on court. I am happy with that, and let us see if I am able to play a little bit better tomorrow.”
Nadal, who now has a record of 11 wins and eight losses this season, will face seventh seed Nuno Borges in the final. Borges secured his spot by defeating Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-4, to reach his first ATP tour championship match.
