BASTAD – Rafael Nadal remains unbeatable on clay, despite the fact that the 38-year-old Spanish legend will shortly be leaving the game.
He maintained the momentum in the final 16, defeating British fifth seed Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, one day after completing a triumphant singles comeback on July 17 at the Swedish Open against Leo Borg.
Due to fitness concerns, he hadn’t played singles since being defeated by Alexander Zverev in the first round of the French Open in May, which was before to his matchup with Borg, the legendary tennis player’s son.
However, on July 18, despite the fact that he had survived a minor scare in the second set, there were no signs of rust. Nadal was behind 4-1, but he rallied in his trademark ferocious style, winning five straight games to win the match.
He has advanced to his first clay tournament quarterfinal since Roland Garros in 2022, demonstrating that he is still very much a tennis player. Mariano Navone of Argentina will be his next opponent.
Wonderful emotions. Since Roland Garros, it’s been a while since I played on tour,” Nadal remarked.
It’s wonderful to have the opportunity to perform well against a player of Cameron’ caliber. I had brief flashes of excellent tennis play in this match. I have to play with more aggression.
Not too often have I been competing. I can stay in rhythm and apply pressure to my opponent throughout the entire match thanks to matches and triumphs like this one. Today, I have to get better at that. due of my lack of playing.
As he gets ready to compete in the tennis competition that will take place in Paris from July 27 to August 4, he is also competing in the doubles in Bastad, Sweden.
Hours after the Norwegian was eliminated from the singles on July 17, he and Casper Ruud combined to preserve a match point in the decisive set tie-break to advance to the semifinals.
After nearly losing the first three points of the match, the pair overcame Theo Arribage of France and Roman Safiullin of Russia 6-4, 3-6, 12-10 to make it to the last four.
“I believe we had a little fun. Nadal remarked, “It was a good level of tennis against two good players, and an emotional match at the end.” The crowd was fantastic, and we enjoyed it. It’s great to see a full house for a doubles match.
Top seed Zverev overcame a knee problem to easily defeat Jesper de Jong in straight sets and advance to his home tournament’s round of sixteen somewhere in the German city of Hamburg.
After suffering a left knee injury during a tumble at Wimbledon, when he lost in the round of 16, the reigning champion defeated 114th-ranked Dutchman de Jong 6-2, 6-2 to advance to face Hugo Gaston of France. As of the time of writing, the outcome of their July 18 match was unknown. AAFP