 "Rafael Nadal will face Croatian qualifier Duje Ajdukovic in the semi-finals at Bastad. Image: TT News Agency/ AP")
Rafael Nadal reached his first semi-final in two years after a four-hour quarter-final at the Nordea Open on Friday. The 38-year-old Nadal battled past 36th-ranked Mariano Navone of Argentina 6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals. Nadal led 5-2 in the deciding set.
“I lost for some moments my concentration, but I was able to hold physically until the end,” Nadal said in an on-court interview. “That is so important for me. Let’s see how I am tomorrow, but today I am alive and in the semifinals.”
The 38-year-old Nadal is playing his first tournament since losing in the French Open first round, to prepare for the Paris Olympics on clay at Roland Garros.
In his first semi-final since 2022 Wimbledon, Nadal will face Croatian qualifier Duje Ajdukovic on Saturday.
With AP inputs