Rafael Nadal withdraws from Bastad draw immediately after reaching singles final
Rafael Nadal has withdrawn from the Swedish Open doubles with Casper Ruud.
Rafael Nadal confirmed his withdrawal from the doubles competition at the Swedish Open just minutes after reaching the singles final with victory over Duje Ajdukovic. The Spaniard battled back from a set down to reach the final in Bastad, where he will face either Thiago Agustin Tirante or Nuno Borges.
Nadal initially got off to a slow start, dropping the opening set as Ajdukovic came flying out of the blocks to draw first blood. He went on to find his feet in the second set before holding his nerve in the third to seal a 4-6 6-3 6-4 triumph. In his post-match press conference, Nadal confirmed that he would no longer be taking part in the doubles event alongside Casper Ruud. They were due to face Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos in the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon but Nadal has decided to conserve his energy for the singles final.
The Spaniard was due to partner Casper Ruud in the semi-finals on Saturday afternoon
Over the course of Friday and Saturday, the 38-year-old played more than six hours of tennis, and he also prevailed over Mariano Navone in the quarterfinals. In an attempt to win an ATP championship for the first time since his 2022 victory at the French Open, he will be driven to end his Swedish Open campaign with the trophy.
Nadal struggled to overcome Ajdukovic despite having a sluggish start to the match with a positive performance. Throughout the game, he scored 13 more points than his opponent by timing his shots well and taking advantage of mistakes made by the opposition.
Nadal took the lead as Ajdukovic made several avoidable errors in the later stages of the match, despite his strong start. After three sets, the Manacor native won all six of his break points to secure his spot in Sunday’s championship match.
When asked how he felt about making it to his first ATP final in more than two years, Rafael Nadal responded, “Being in a final is always a great feeling.” I had a four-match winning streak. That was two years ago the last time I was able to pull that off. Numerous things took place. That is the reality.
“It’s not easy, but I’m battling. I’m still in the process of getting back a lot of the things I lost after a major hip surgery that I had over a year ago. To reach where I am now, I had to fight the entire tournament.
“A lot of things on the court are improved by matches like the ones from yesterday and today. I’m content with that. Tomorrow, we’ll see if I can play a bit better.
