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Victor Petkov
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Nadal continues to improve, reaches first semi-final of the season
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Nadal Overcomes Navone in nearly four-hour battle, advances to face Ajdukovic

Rafael Nadal endured a grueling three-hour-and-58-minute battle to secure his first semi-final appearance of the year, coming from behind to defeat Argentine Mariano Navone at the Swedish Open. The 38-year-old Spaniard knocked out the fourth seed 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 7-5, setting up a semi-final clash with Croatia’s Duje Ajdukovic.

Nadal, also slated to compete in the doubles semi-finals with Casper Ruud against Brazil’s Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos, is preparing to partner with Carlos Alcaraz at the upcoming Olympics in Paris.

The match featured some exceptional tennis, with Navone taking the lead by winning a first-set tie-break. Despite breaking Navone twice in the second set to lead 3-0, Nadal’s level dropped, allowing the Argentine to win four consecutive games. However, Nadal broke again to make it 6-5 and held his nerve to level the match.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion faced further challenges in the final set, failing to serve out the match at the first attempt but closing it out on the second try.

“First of all, I’m looking forward to the afternoon and trying to recover this body,” said Nadal after the match. “Even if it’s a young body, I would need to work and recover once and for all. I will see how I wake up tomorrow.”