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Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates after beating Duje Ajdukovic of Croatia in the Nordea Open men's singles semifinals in Bastad, Sweden, July 20, 2024. /CFP
Rafael Nadal reached his first final since the 2022 French Open by rallying to beat Croatia's Duje Ajdukovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the clay-court Nordea Open on Saturday.
After needing four hours to put away 36th-ranked Mariano Navone of Argentina in Friday's quarterfinals, Nadal started slowly against Ajdukovic, and was a break down in the second set before turning things around.
"My opponent had one of the best backhands that I played against," Nadal said. "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 will play Portugal's Nuno Borges, who swept past Argentina's Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first Tour-level final.
Spain's 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 to compete on clay at Roland Garros during the Paris Summer Olympics.
The 38-year-old skipped Wimbledon, as he didn't want to switch surfaces to grass and then back to clay, and risk injury. He has been dealing with hip and abdominal issues over the past year-and-a-half.