Rafael Nadal enjoyed the company of his son Rafa Jr. and his wife Maria Francisca Perello as he booked his spot in a final for the first time since the birth of his son. The Spaniard defeated Duje Ajdukovic in a three-set thriller to book a ticket for the title clash.
Nadal started the week with an impactful performance against Bjorn Borg‘s son Leo, defeating him 6-3, 6-4. He then eased past Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4 in the second round. In the quarterfinals, he faced a tough competitor in Mariano Navone, who gave him a run for his money. The former World No. 1 eventually edged past the Argentine 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5.
The semifinal was another tough encounter for the Spaniard as he had to dig deep to earn the victory against Ajdukovic. The 22-time Grand Slam champion lost the first set 4-6 but leveled the match with a 6-3 second set victory. He was a service break down in the second set but recovered to level the match.
The Spaniard got 3-0 up in the third set but Ajdukovic leveled the score by winning the next three games. The King of Clay earned a break to go 4-3 up and served out the match to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
As Nadal sealed his spot in the final for the first time since the 2022 French Open, his son Rafa Jr. and wife Maria Francisca Perello were in the stands supporting him. This will be the first final he plays since welcoming his son in October 2022.
Rafael Nadal: “I fought the whole tournament to be where I am today”
Rafael Nadal was ecstatic to be in the final after a hiatus of two years. In the on-court interview, he laid bare his feelings after reaching the summit clash, saying that it was a great feeling.
The Spaniard said that he was still recovering from the hip surgery that he underwent a year ago, adding that he fought his way throughout the tournament.
“It’s always a great feeling to be in a final. I won 4 matches in a row. I wasn’t able to make that happen since 2 years ago. A lot of things happened. That’s the truth. Still in this process of recovering a lot of things I lost because I had a very important hip surgery almost 1 year ago. so things aren’t going that easy. But I’m fighting. I fought the whole tournament to be where I am today,” he said.
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Source: Los Angeles Times (edited)
