Rafael Nadal reached his first last since 2022 as he beat Duje Ajdukovic in three units on the Swedish Open in Bastad.
Nadal beat unseeded Croat Ajdukovic 3-6 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 12 minutes to succeed in his first showpiece because the French Open two years in the past.
On Sunday, the 38-year-old Spaniard will face seventh seed Nuno Borges, of Portugal, who beat unseeded Thiago Agustin Tirante, of Argentina, 6-4 6-3 of their semi-final.
“It was a really robust match – my opponent has among the best backhands I’ve performed towards,” mentioned Nadal.
“He got here right here with quite a lot of confidence. I used to be making an attempt to push him again and it was very tough. I discovered a option to survive.”
The ultimate might be Nadal’s 131st tour last, and 72nd on clay.
“It’s all the time feeling to get again right into a last,” he added.
“I am nonetheless on this strategy of recovering quite a lot of issues that I misplaced as a result of I had an necessary hip surgical procedure nearly a 12 months in the past. Issues are usually not going that simple however I’m preventing.”
Nadal was additionally set to play within the Swedish Open males’s doubles semi-final on Saturday with Casper Ruud, however the pair pulled out with Nadal conserving his vitality for the singles last.
Their withdrawal sends Brazil’s Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos into the ultimate.
Nadal was competing within the doubles as preparation for his doubles partnership with Carlos Alcaraz on the Paris Olympics this summer season.