4-hour workout! Nadal grinds down Navone in Bastad QF marathon

Rafael Nadal passed a stern physical test from Mariano Navone with the help of some trademark mental strength on Friday at the Nordea Open in Bastad.

The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings battled to a 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5 triumph against Navone in an absorbing four-hour quarter-final at the clay-court ATP 250. Nadal struggled to maintain his best level for long periods in the match but dug in superbly after letting slip a 5-2 lead in the deciding set to reach his first tour-level semi-final since Wimbledon 2022.

“I lost for some moments my concentration, but I was able to hold physically until the end,” said Nadal, who raised his arms to the sky with joy on match point, in his on-court interview. “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.”

All-time great kinda comeback 👑

2005 champion @RafaelNadal digs very deep for his first Tour semi-final since 2022@NordeaOpen | #NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/JMeCqHNoRn

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 19, 2024

Nadal and Navone played out three topsy-turvy sets, all of which lasted more than an hour, in their maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. In the first, Nadal rallied from a double-break down at 1-4 to force a tie-break, which Navone composed himself to clinch in style. In the second, it was Navone’s turn to recover a double-break deficit from 0-3, but he was unable to stop Nadal from clinching his third, decisive break of the set in the 11th game.

The World No. 36 Navone appeared to have taken control again early in the third set, when he broke Nadal’s serve in the second game for a 2-0 lead. Then came the Nadal charge, as the 92-time tour-level champion reeled off five straight games, before Navone again recovered from a double break down to level at 5-5. Finally, after notching another break of Navone's serve in the 11th game of the decider, Nadal held firm behind his delivery to snatch his 10th tour-level victory of 2024.

“There were a lot of changing dynamics in every single set,” said Nadal after winning the second-longest three-set match of his career. “For moments, he was in control. For moments, I was in control. But at the end, no one was in control! That’s true, and I had a good chance in the second with 3-0. Then I was very close to losing the match in the second set.

“In the third [I was ahead] again with 5-2, but he’s a great fighter and he played a great match. I wish him all the very best for the rest of the season.”

Nadal converted 10 of 21 break points he earned against Navone, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He is this week competing in his first tour-level event since his first-round defeat to Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros in May and is now on an eight-match winning streak in Bastad, where he won the title on his previous appearance in 2005. The Spaniard has been supported through his first three rounds in Sweden by numerous members of his team and family, including his wife Maria, his son Rafael, and his sister.

Duje Ajdukovic awaits Nadal in the semi-finals after the Croatian qualifier downed Thiago Monteiro 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Regardless of how the semi-final goes for Nadal, the way he coped physically with a bruising encounter against Navone will be a huge boost the 38-year-old, who also has his eye on the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympics. The tennis event will be held at Roland Garros, where he is a record 14-time champion, from 27 July to 4 August.