Rafael Nadal will play for his first singles title in two years on Sunday after beating Croatian Duje Ajduković in the semi-finals of the Nordea Open.
Nadal, 38, beat Ajduković 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday and will now look to claim his first singles championship since winning the 2022 French Open. He will face either Portugal’s Nuno Borges or Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante in the final as he seeks his 93rd career singles title.
“It’s always a great feeling to be back in the final. I won four matches in a row, something I haven’t been able to do for two years,” Nadal said afterwards.
“In this process of recovering many things that I lost… things haven’t gone so well for me, but I’m fighting. I was fighting throughout the tournament to be where I am today, and I think matches like yesterday’s, like today’s, help improve many things on the court. I’m happy with that.”
Nadal, a 22-time Grand Slam champion and winner of the Nordea Open in 2005, decided to skip Wimbledon this year to focus on clay-court training ahead of next week’s Paris Olympics. He will compete in the singles competition at Roland Garros and will also pair with Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in doubles for Spain.
Later on Saturday Nadal will be part of the doubles semi-final with Casper Rudd, whom he defeated in that French Open final two years ago.