Rafael Nadal dissected his epic match with Mariano Navone at the Swedish Open.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion reached his first semi-final since 2022, but he had to do it the hard way.
Nadal defeated Navone in an epic three-set battle that lasted four hours in the Bastad sunshine.
The Spaniard did not play his best tennis throughout, but his experience and fighting qualities shone through when it mattered most to keep his campaign in Sweden alive.
What did Rafael Nadal say about beating Mariano Navone at the Swedish Open?
Nadal came through his toughest and most physically demanding match since making his comeback at the start of 2024.
The 38-year-old rallied from a set down to win 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5 in what is the second longest three-set match of his entire career.
It was a tense back-and-forth match in which the pendulum swung one way and then the other. Nadal’s trademark mental strength shone through and he claimed the win, but he admitted where he went wrong during his on-court interview.
“I was not focused all the time, as you saw! With this 3-0 [second set] and 5-2 [third set], I lost for some moments the concentration,” Nadal told the crowd.
“But I was able to hold physically until the end, that’s important for me. Let’s see how I am tomorrow. But today I am alive and I am in the semi-finals, so that’s super important!”
Who will Rafael Nadal play in the Swedish Open semi-finals?
Nadal will have to recover well from his titanic Swedish Open quarterfinal as he is set to contest his semi-final on Saturday.
The 14-time French Open winner will face Duje Ajduković, who knocked out the experienced Thiago Monteiro in the previous round.
Nadal will also play alongside Casper Ruud in doubles against the Brazilian pair of Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos.
The tennis legend is aiming for the 12th doubles title of his career. This comes before before Nadal plays alongside Carlos Alcaraz at the Olympics.
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