Rafael Nadal makes withdrawal announcement after reaching Swedish Open final to end two-year curse
Rafael Nadal has pulled out of his doubles semi-final alongside Casper Ruud after reaching his first ATP Tour singles final in Bastad.
The Spaniard is back playing this week for the first time since the French Open having skipped the grasscourt season.
Nadal was given a wildcard entry to the tournament as he prepares himself for the Olympics.
He pulled off impressive victories against Cam Norrie and Mariano Navone to make it through to the semi-finals.
Rafael Nadal is through to the final at the Swedish Open
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Croatian star Duje Ajdukovic threatened to stop Nadal’s run after taking the opening set.
However, Nadal rallied back to reach his first ATP Tour-level final in over two years.
The 38-year-old was also set to play in the men’s doubles semi-final on Saturday alongside Ruud.
However, Nadal confirmed after his win over Ajdukovic that he was withdrawing from the doubles draw to focus on his final.
“Always it is a great feeling to be back in a final,” Nadal said.
“I have won four matches in a row, something I was not able to make happen since two years ago.
“A lot of things happened, but still in this process of recovering, a lot of things I lost, because I had a very important hip surgery almost one year ago.
“So things were not going that easy, but I am fighting.
Rafael Nadal has pulled out of the doubles draw
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“I am fighting during the whole tournament to be where I am today, and I think matches like yesterday’s, like today’s, help to improve a lot of things on court.
“I am happy with that, and let’s see if I am able to play a little bit better tomorrow.”
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Rafael Nadal came from a set down to beat Duje Ajduokovic
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Nadal will face No 7 seed Nuno Borges in the final on Sunday – the first meeting between the pair.
The 22-time major champion will also make a huge climb up the men’s rankings to 160th in the world after reaching the final.
If he wins, Nadal could climb up to 135th in the world.
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