Rafael Nadal raises his hands. © ANSA / Adam Ihse

Nadal reaches first final in two years

Rafael Nadal has reached his first ATP Tour final in more than two years.

July 20, 2024

From: dpa

The 38-year-old Spaniard won the semifinals of the clay court tournament in Båstad, Sweden, after a tough fight with 4:6, 6:3 and 6:4 against the 15-year-younger qualifier Duje Ajdukovic from Croatia.

The day before, he had already defeated Argentinian Mariano Navone in the quarterfinals in three sets - after almost four hours of play. In the final - Nadal's first since his victory at the 2022 French Open - the 22-time Grand Slam winner will now face the winner of the match between Argentinian Thiago Agustin Tirante and Portuguese Nuno Borges.

Nadal hopes for good form at the Olympics

Nadal is taking part in Båstad for the first time since 2005. Back then, he won the tournament – ​​at the age of just 19. Now the 38-year-old is using the matches in the south of Sweden as preparation for the Olympic Games in Paris, where the tennis competitions will also be played on clay at the Stade Roland Garros.

Rafael Nadal in action. © APA/afp / ADAM IHSE/TT

It is the Spaniard's first tournament since his first-round exit at the French Open against Alexander Zverev at the end of May. He skipped Wimbledon so as not to have to switch back and forth between clay and grass on his way to the Olympics.

Consequences for the doubles competition

In Båstad, Nadal also reached the doubles semifinals with Norwegian Casper Ruud. After reaching the singles final, however, he announced that he would give up the doubles without a fight. "I can't risk tomorrow's final," he said.