Rafael Nadal advanced to his initial final following the 2022 French Open after coming from behind to defeat Duje Ajdukovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday at the clay-court Nordea Open.
Following a challenging four-hour match against the
36th-ranked Mariano Navone in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nadal struggled at
the beginning against Ajdukovic and found himself trailing in the second set
before making a comeback.
“My opponent had one of the best backhands that I played
against,” Nadal said. “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.”
Nadal is set to face either Nuno Borges or Thiago Agustin
Tirante in the championship match.
This tournament in Sweden marks his return since winning the
title at 19 years old in 2005, as he gears up for the Olympic tournament on
clay at Roland Garros in Paris.
The 38-year-old skipped Wimbledon to avoid the risk of
injury from switching surfaces from grass to clay, as he has been managing hip
and abdominal injuries for the past 1 1/2 years.