Rafael Nadal beat Mariano Navone in a chaotic duel that lasted four hours (6-7(2), 7-5 and 7-5) and in which the chaos prevailed on both sides. In any case, the 38-year-old Spaniard, ranked 261st in the world, prevailed in the final stretch and made it to the semi-finals of the Bastad tournament (Sweden), where he will face Dejan Ajdukovic (130th) on Saturday, superior to Thiago Monteiro.
The tennis player from Manacor managed to resolve a match full of inaccuracies, breaks and alternatives. Navone knows how to handle himself on clay – a finalist this year in Bucharest and Rio – and he played to the 22-time Grand Slam champion from start to finish, without giving in and taking the initiative for large parts of the match; however, when it came down to it, Nadal’s size was more important.
This is the first time that the Balearic player has reached the penultimate round of a tournament since he withdrew from the match against Nick Kyrgios at Wimbledon 2022, who was injured at the time. After getting through the first three rounds, he will now face an unknown opponent with whom he has never faced before.
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