Nordea Open: Nadal beats Ajdukovic to reach first final since 2022 | Pragativadi

Spaniard Rafael Nadal made a comeback from a set and a slump on Saturday afternoon to defeat Duje Ajdukovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Nordea Open, reaching his first tour-level final since Roland Garros in 2022.

After a gruelling four-hour match against Mariano Navone on Friday in Bastad, Nadal took some time to find his rhythm in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Croatian qualifier Ajdukovic. However, he improved his game in time to turn around an early break in the second set, and eventually broke Ajdukovic’s serve five times in the second and third sets to claim a two-hour, 13-minute victory in the semi-finals.

Just like in his match with Navone, Nadal took the win even after giving up a double-break advantage in the final set. Ajdukovic managed to level the score from 0-3 to 3-3, but Nadal broke back immediately and held serve to secure the victory.

Despite a slow start to Saturday’s match, Nadal’s performance was more consistent than in his previous match against Navone. He was especially effective on the return, converting all six break points he faced against Ajdukovic, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

With an 11-8 record for the season, Nadal will face seventh seed Nuno Borges, who defeated Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first ATP Tour final, for the title in Sweden. The 38-year-old Nadal is riding a nine-match winning streak in Bastad, having won the title on his last visit in 2005.

Despite being defeated, Ajdukovic can be proud of a remarkable week in Bastad, where he claimed victories over Luca Van Assche, Pavel Kotov and Thiago Monteiro to reach his first ATP Tour semi-final. The 23-year-old’s performance has propelled him up 20 places to No. 110 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, poised to reach a new career high in the upcoming PIF ATP Rankings on Monday.