Nadal advances to Swedish Open final after two-year hiatus

Beats Ajdukovic to continue recovery and gear up for Paris Olympics

BASTAD:

Rafael Nadal reached his first final in two years on Saturday, overcoming qualifier Duje Ajdukovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the semi-finals of the Swedish Open in Bastad. The 22-time grand slam champion continues his preparations for the Paris Olympics.

The 38-year-old Spaniard, who was sidelined last year with a hip injury that required surgery, had previously spent four hours defeating Mariano Navone 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5 in the quarter-finals of the clay-court event on Friday.

"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," said Nadal, whose last final was at the French Open in 2022. "It’s always a great feeling to be in a final. I won four matches in a row. I wasn’t able to make that happen since two years ago. A lot of things happened. That’s the truth."

Nadal, who has previously won Olympic gold in both men's singles and doubles, will compete in singles and doubles at the Paris Olympics, partnering with French Open and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz.

"(I am) still in this process of recovering a lot of things I lost because I had a very important hip surgery almost one year ago... so things aren’t going that easy. But I’m fighting... let’s see if I’m able to play a little better tomorrow."

Nadal will face either seventh seed Nuno Borges of Portugal or Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante in Sunday's final.

The Paris Games open on Friday (July 26), with the tennis tournaments starting the next day.