Rafael Nadal Reaches First Final in Two Years at Nordea Open in Sweden

Bastad, Sweden, July 20: Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal has reached the finals of the Nordea Open after a hard-fought victory over Duje Ajdukovic. This is Nadal’s first final in over two years, with his last being the 2022 French Open where he won his 14th title.

Nadal defeated Ajdukovic in a two-hour, 13-minute match with scores of 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. After losing the first set and the serve in the second set, Nadal made a strong comeback, breaking Ajdukovic’s serve five times to secure the win.

Speaking after the match, Nadal said, “I think 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.”

Nadal expressed his joy at being back in a final after battling injuries and undergoing hip surgery. He said, “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.”

Now, Nadal will face seventh seed Nuno Borges in the final, who defeated Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-4 to secure his first ATP tour championship clash.