Rafael Nadal has reached his first final since the 2022 French Open by rallying to beat Duje Ajdukovic at the Nordea Open on the clay in Bastad.

The 38-year-old Spaniard lost the first set and was a break down in the second, but came back to beat the Croatian 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a meeting with Nuno Borges in Sunday’s final.

After needing four hours to beat the 36th-ranked Mariano Navone in Friday’s quarter-final, Nadal had a slow start against Ajdukovic and could easily have slipped to a quick defeat before rallying in second set.

“My opponent had one of the best backhands that I played against,” Nadal said. “It was very, very difficult, honestly, but I found a way to survive and be through to that final after a long time without being in a final. So that’s great news and I’m very happy with that.”

Nadal has not faced Borges previously but will be pleased with the improvement in his game after a more consistent performance against Ajdukovic, where the Spaniard converted all six of his break points. “Always it is a great feeling to be back in a final,” said Nadal. “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. 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.”

After skipping Wimbledon, Nadal is playing at the clay-court tournament in Sweden for the first time since he won the title as a 19-year-old in 2005. The ATP Tour 250 event will be his final competitive outing before the Olympics at Roland Garros – a venue where he has won a record 14 French Open titles.

Having dealt with hip and abdominal injuries since winning the 2022 French Open, Nadal said he did not want to switch surfaces to grass from clay and take any risks before the Olympics. He has a chance to win his second gold medal in both singles and doubles, where he will play alongside Carlos Alcaraz.