Impressive Nadal rallies past Norrie to Bastad QFs

Rafael Nadal delivered one of his most complete performances of the 2024 season on Thursday at the Nordea Open.

The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings defeated fifth seed Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 in Bastad to reach his second ATP Tour quarter-final of the season. After clinching the only break of a tight first set, Nadal rallied from 1-4 down in the second to pull through a tough second-round test at the clay ATP 250.

“Great feelings. I’ve been a while without playing on the Tour, since Roland Garros. To have the chance to compete well against a great player like Cameron is a great feeling,” said Nadal in his on-court interview. “I think I played in some moments good tennis, in some moments I need to play a little bit more aggressive, but that is part of the journey today.

“I haven’t been competing very often, so matches and victories like today help. To be in rhythm the whole match and hold the pressure on the opponent the whole match, that’s something that I need to improve, because I didn’t play enough.”

Rafa returns to the Elite 🎱@RafaelNadal triumphs 6-4 6-4 for his first quarter-final ticket since January @NordeaOpen | #NordeaOpen pic.twitter.com/yOImxXwxKj

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 18, 2024

Although the Spaniard had shown glimpses of his imperious best during his previous 13 tour-level matches in 2024, Thursday’s showing against fellow Norrie lefty was arguably his most consistent. A rock-solid Nadal wore down the Briton, himself one of the hardest grinders on Tour, to complete a one-hour, 43-minute triumph.

Nadal took control after a tight opening few games by reeling off three games in a row from 2-3. He fended off two break points at 5-4 before holding serve to clinch a high-quality first set, and then recovered from a minor lapse in his level early in the second in style. Nadal won 14 points in a row from 1-4, 0/15, and ultimately won the final five games of the match to improve his Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Norrie to 5-1.

“I feel that in some way at the beginning of the match he was a little bit better than me, because he was winning his serve quite easy, and my serve I was suffering a little bit more,” said Nadal. “But I was the player who got the break. Then in the beginning of the second set, I was playing better than him. I had break points and was more in control, but I played a bad game and he played a good game and he broke me.

“So I said to myself, ‘OK, it’s 1-4, but it could be 4-1 for me too, so I just need to keep doing the things that I am doing’. I probably played a little bit more aggressive with my backhand, which I think at the end of the match worked a little bit better. That makes the difference. With the forehand I am quite happy, and with the serve too.”

Nadal struck the ball cleanly off both wings throughout the match and did not hold back in chasing balls into either corner of the court. He won 74 per cent (32/43) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, a solid foundation that allowed him to win plenty of easy points on serve with some trademark second-strike winners.

The only physical concern for the 38-year-old Nadal came when he fell over his left foot while trying to slide for a ball at 40/Ad in the first game of the second set. He called the physio to the court at the end of the game to tidy up bleeding on his leg and elbow.

Now 9-5 for the season, Nadal will take on fourth seed Mariano Navone in the quarter-finals as he looks to add another Bastad title to the one he won on his previous appearance there in 2005. Navone earlier defeated Sumit Nagal 6-4, 6-2.

“He’s a player that is playing so well this year, winning a lot of matches, especially on clay,” said Nadal of the World No. 36 Navone. “It is the quarter-finals of an historic event on the Tour like Bastad. You can’t expect an easy opponent. I am just focused on keeping improving every single day, trying to play every day. I know it is going to be a tough one, but I really hope to play good tennis and give myself chances.”

Qualifier Timofey Skatov also booked his last-eight spot on Thursday in Bastad. The Kazakhstani upset third seed Tallon Griekspoor 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to reach his maiden ATP Tour quarter-final. The 23-year-old Skatov, who is No. 223 in the PIF ATP Rankings, will take on seventh seed Nuno Borges next after the Portuguese beat his #NextGenATP countryman Henrique Rocha 1-6, 6-4, 6-0.