Spanish Super star Rafael Nadal has reached his first final in over two years after battling back to beat Duje Ajukovic in the semi-final.
Nadal fought back from a set and a break down to beat the Croatian rising star 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first final since Roland Garros 2022.
After he overcame Mariano Navone in a four-hour marathon on Friday in Bastad, Nadal needed time to loosen up in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash against Croatian qualifier Ajdukovic.
Yet he raised his level in time to recover after dropping serve in the opening game of the second set, going on to break his opponent’s serve five times across the second and third sets en route to a two-hour, 13-minute semi-final triumph.
“I think it was a tough match. My opponent had one of the best backhands that I played against,” said Nadal in his on-court interview.
“He came here with a lot of confidence. I think I was trying to push him back. 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.”
Just as he had against Navone, Nadal sealed victory despite letting slip a double-break lead in the deciding set. After Ajdukovic rallied from 0-3 to 3-3, the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings immediately broke through on return again before holding firm behind his serve to clinch the win.
Although he made a relatively slow start to Saturday’s match, Nadal delivered a more consistent performance overall than he had against Navone. He was particularly clinical on return, and converted all six break points he earned against Ajdukovic, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
“Always it is a great feeling to be back in a final,” said Nadal. “I have won four matches in a row, something I was not able to make happen since two years ago. A lot of things happened, but still in this process of recovering, a lot of things I lost, because I had a very important hip surgery almost one year ago.
“So things were not going that easy, but I am fighting. I am fighting during the whole tournament to be where I am today, and I think matches like yesterday’s, like today’s, help to improve a lot of things on court. I am happy with that, and let’s see if I am able to play a little bit better tomorrow.”
