Nadal Reaches First Semi of Season at Swedish Open
Rafael Nadal secured his first semi-final appearance of the year at the Swedish Open, overcoming Argentine Mariano Navone in a nearly four-hour match.
The 38-year-old, currently ranked 261 in the world, defeated the fourth seed with scores of 6-7 (2-7), 7-5, 7-5, setting up a semi-final clash against Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic.
Nadal is also set to compete in the doubles semi-finals alongside Casper Ruud against Brazil’s Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos, as he prepares to team up with Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics.
The intense match saw Nadal drop the first-set tie-break to Navone, who initially took control. Despite breaking twice in the second set to lead 3-0, Nadal lost four consecutive games before regaining his composure to break again at 6-5 and level the match. He then managed to close out the match on his second attempt while serving for the win.
“First of all, I’m looking forward to the afternoon and trying to recover this body,” Nadal said. “Even if it’s a young body, I would need to work and recover once and for all. I will see how I wake up tomorrow.”
