Rafael Nadal made history in his Swedish Open victory over Mariano Navone.
The great Spaniard used every ounce of mental strength he had to come from a set down to reach an ATP semi-final for the first time since 2022.
The 38-year-old had to dig deep against Navone, who was the last seeded player in the tournament and has had an excellent season.
But despite not playing his best tennis Nadal beat Navone in Bastad to claim a 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5 win in front of a packed crowd on centre court.
What personal milestone did Rafael Nadal reach at the Swedish Open?
Nadal’s victory at the Swedish Open lasted an incredible three hours and 59 minutes. This marks the second-longest three-set match of his entire career, just four minutes behind his longest encounter.
Nadal found himself in some tricky situations throughout the match, such as being 1-4 down in the first set and failing to successfully serve out the match on two occasions in the set three.
But the 22-time Grand Slam champion never gave up and successfully carved out another break of serve, before eventually serving out the match.
A relieved Nadal said post-match: “I lost for some moments my concentration, but I was able to hold on physically until the end.
“That is so important for me. Let’s see how I am tomorrow, but today I am alive and in the semi-finals, so that’s very important.”
What is Rafael Nadal’s longest best-of-three set match?
Nadal’s second longest three set match is four minutes shorter than his longest encounter, which came against Novak Djokovic in 2009.
The pair played one another in front of Nadal’s home fans at the Madrid Open, with a spot in the final against Roger Federer on the line. After losing the first set, Nadal edged the second set tiebreak to take the match into a deciding set.
Set three also went to a tiebreak, during which Nadal saved three match points before claiming a 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(9) win.
Nadal fell to the ground with glee following his monumental win as the Madrid crowd roared with delight after witnessing an all-time great match.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
