Nadal Advances in Bastad after 4-hour Quarterfinal

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning his men's singles first round match against Leo Borg of Sweden during the Nordea Open Tennis tournament in Bastad, Sweden, 16 July 2024. EPA/Adam Ihse
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning his men's singles first round match against Leo Borg of Sweden during the Nordea Open Tennis tournament in Bastad, Sweden, 16 July 2024. EPA/Adam Ihse
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Nadal Advances in Bastad after 4-hour Quarterfinal

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning his men's singles first round match against Leo Borg of Sweden during the Nordea Open Tennis tournament in Bastad, Sweden, 16 July 2024. EPA/Adam Ihse
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning his men's singles first round match against Leo Borg of Sweden during the Nordea Open Tennis tournament in Bastad, Sweden, 16 July 2024. EPA/Adam Ihse

Rafael Nadal advanced to his first semifinal in two years after a four-hour quarterfinal at the Nordea Open on Friday.
Nadal fought past 36th-ranked Mariano Navone of Argentina 6-7 (2), 7-5, 7-5. Nadal led 5-2 in the deciding set.
“I lost for some moments my concentration, but I was able to hold physically until the end,” Nadal said in an on-court interview. “That is so important for me. Let's see how I am tomorrow, but today I am alive and in the semifinals.”
The 38-year-old Nadal is playing his first tournament since losing in the French Open first round, to prepare for the Paris Olympics on clay at Roland Garros.
In his first semifinal since 2022 Wimbledon, Nadal will face Croatian qualifier Duje Ajdukovic on Saturday.



Nadal Comes from 4-1 Down in 2nd Set to Beat Norrie, Reach Quarterfinals of Nordea Open

Spain's Rafael Nadal delivers a press conference after his men's singles match of the ATP Nordea Open tennis tournament against Sweden's Leo Borg in Bastad, Sweden, on July 16, 2024. (Photo by Adam Ihse/TT / TT News Agency / AFP)
Spain's Rafael Nadal delivers a press conference after his men's singles match of the ATP Nordea Open tennis tournament against Sweden's Leo Borg in Bastad, Sweden, on July 16, 2024. (Photo by Adam Ihse/TT / TT News Agency / AFP)
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Nadal Comes from 4-1 Down in 2nd Set to Beat Norrie, Reach Quarterfinals of Nordea Open

Spain's Rafael Nadal delivers a press conference after his men's singles match of the ATP Nordea Open tennis tournament against Sweden's Leo Borg in Bastad, Sweden, on July 16, 2024. (Photo by Adam Ihse/TT / TT News Agency / AFP)
Spain's Rafael Nadal delivers a press conference after his men's singles match of the ATP Nordea Open tennis tournament against Sweden's Leo Borg in Bastad, Sweden, on July 16, 2024. (Photo by Adam Ihse/TT / TT News Agency / AFP)

Rafael Nadal recovered from a tumble and a 4-1 deficit in the second set to beat fifth-seeded Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of the Nordea Open on Thursday.
Nadal fell over in the first game of the second set after attempting to slide on the clay, and needed treatment on a couple of bleeding scrapes. He then went a break down before winning the last five games of the match to reach his first quarterfinal since January, The Associated Press reported.
“Great feelings, it’s been a while without playing on the tour since Roland Garros and I had a chance to compete against a great player like Cameron,” Nadal said. “It’s part of the journey today. I haven’t been competing very often so matches like today help and holding the pressure on the opponent for the whole game is something I need to improve on because I haven’t played enough.”
Nadal is playing at the tournament in Sweden for the first time since he won the title as a 19-year-old in 2005 as he prepares for the Olympic tournament on clay at Roland Garros in Paris.
He beat Leo Borg, the son of Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg, in the first round on Tuesday. That was his first singles match since he lost in the first round of the French Open to Alexander Zverev. He teamed up with Casper Ruud on Monday to win a first-round doubles match.
The 38-year-old Nadal skipped Wimbledon as he didn’t want to switch surface to grass and then back to clay and risk injury. He has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries over the past 1 1/2 years.