BASTAD, Sweden (AP) 鈥� Rafael Nadal reached his first final since the 2022 French Open by rallying to beat Duje Ajdukovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 Saturday at the clay-court Nordea Open.
After to beat the 36th-ranked Mariano Navone in Friday's quarterfinals, Nadal had a slow start against Ajdukovic and was a break down in the second set before turning things around.
鈥淢y opponent had one of the best backhands that I played against,鈥� Nadal said. 鈥淚t was very, very difficult, honestly, but I found a way to survive and be through to that final after a long time without 小蓝视频 in a final. So that鈥檚 great news and I鈥檓 very happy with that.鈥�
Nadal will play Nuno Borges, who beat Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first tour-level final.
Nadal is playing at the tournament in Sweden for the first time since he won the title as a 19-year-old in 2005 as he prepares for the Olympic tournament on clay at Roland Garros in Paris.
The 38-year-old Nadal as he didn鈥檛 want to switch surface to grass and then back to clay and risk injury. He has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries over the past 1 1/2 years.
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AP tennis:
The Associated Press
