Rafa Nadal has reached his first final in two years as he prepares for the Paris Olympics which start on Friday; his last final was the French Open in 2022.
I think it was a tough match,. My opponent had one of the best backhands that I played against Rafa Nadal
The 38-yesar-old Spanish icon beat Croatian Duje Ajdukovic 4-6 6-3 6-4 in his semi-final at the Bastad Open, Sweden, where he will face Portugal’s Nuno Borges for the title.
Nadal didn’t have it all his own way having to come back from a set down to defeat an opponent 15 years younger and admitted following his win, that he ‘found a way to survive’.
“I think it was a tough match,” he said during his on-court interview. “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’s great news and I’m very happy with that.”
Nadal, who missed the Australian Open with an injury and lost in the opening round of the French Open, decided to miss Wimbledon and the grass court season in order to concentrate on clay court tennis in preparation for the Olympics which will be on the Roland Garros courts.
And he is certainly getting plenty of action having been kept on court for a gruelling four hours the previous day before ousting Argentina’s Mariano Navone to record the longest three setter of his career.
It wasn’t a good start for Nadal as he dropped his serve in the opening game to give his opponent heart as he gained a double break over the 22-time grand slam title holder.
But Nadal recovered his composure and reduced the lead to 3-2, breaking and holding for the first time in the match. But the flurry of breaks soon ended with both trading service games until a comfortable 6-4 conclusion to the opening set for the Croatian qualifier before unleashing an inch-perfect forehand down the line. He then held to level the match
The former world No. 1 was back on form and spurred on by the crowd, raced into a 3-0 lead in the decider but Ajoukovic was not rolling over as he broke back to level at 3-3 but the Spaniard regained control in the seventh game and while the Croat momentarily slowed down Nadal’s run to the finish line, he couldn’t stop it.
In the other semi-final Borges overcame Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3 6-4 to set up a meeting with the veteran Spaniard.
