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Rafael Nadal reached his first final since 2022 as he beat Duje Ajdukovic in three sets at the Swedish Open in Bastad.<\/b><\/p>\n
Nadal beat unseeded Croat Ajdukovic 3-6 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 12 minutes to reach his first showpiece since the French Open two years ago.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, the 38-year-old Spaniard will face seventh seed Nuno Borges, of Portugal, who beat unseeded Thiago Agustin Tirante, of Argentina, 6-4 6-3 in their semi-final.<\/p>\n
“It was a very tough match – my opponent has one of the best backhands I have played against,” said Nadal.<\/p>\n
“He came here with a lot of confidence. I was trying to push him back and it was very difficult. I found a way to survive.”<\/p>\n
The final will be Nadal’s 131st tour final, and 72nd on clay.<\/p>\n
“It is always a good feeling to get back into a final,” he added.<\/p>\n
“I’m still in this process of recovering a lot of things that I lost because I had an important hip surgery almost a year ago. Things are not going that easy but I am fighting.”<\/p>\n
Nadal was also set to play in the Swedish Open men’s doubles semi-final on Saturday with Casper Ruud, but the pair pulled out with Nadal conserving his energy for the singles final.<\/p>\n
Their withdrawal sends Brazil’s Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos into the final.<\/p>\n
Nadal was competing in the doubles as preparation for his doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics this summer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n