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

  • Posted: Jul 19, 2024

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 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.”

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 his 10th break of Navone’s serve in the match 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. “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 is this week competing in his first tour-level event since his first-round defeat to Alexander Zverev at Roland Garros in May. The 38-year-old is now on an eight-match winning streak in Bastad, where he won the title on his previous appearance in 2005. He will take on Duje Ajdukovic in the semi-finals after the Croatian qualifier downed Thiago Monteiro 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

More to follow…

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