Rafael Nadal +74 in ATP Rankings after epic four-hour Bastad victory
Rafael Nadal will be back inside the top 200 of the ATP Rankings after an extraordinary victory in his Swedish Open quarter-final.
In sweltering conditions in Bastad, 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal edged past the much-improved Mariano Navone 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5 to reach his first singles semi-final since Wimbledon 2022.
However, the scoreline does not tell the full story entirely.
Nadal dropped the first set in a tiebreak despite rallying from a double break down, and dropped an initial double break lead in set two before forcing a decider.
The Spaniard was a double break up in the third set before twice failing to serve out the match, only to close it out at the third time of asking after three hours and 58 minutes.
“Without a doubt it was very close,” said Nadal on court, following the second-longest three-set match of his career.
“There were a lot of changing dynamics in every single set, for moments he was in control, for moments I was in control – but at the end no one was in control. That’s the truth.
“I had a good chance in the second [set] with that 3-0, then I was very close to losing that match in the second set, and in the third set again with the 5-2 – but he’s a great fighter, I think he played a great match.
“I lost some moments of concentration but I was able to hold physically until the end and now that is so important for me – but let’s see how I am tomorrow.
“Today, I am alive and I am in the semi-final – so that’s super important.”
Victory has seen the Spaniard jump an impressive 74 places in the live rankings, back up to world No 187 as things stand.
Though rankings are certainly not the most important thing for Nadal at this stage, it is undoubtedly a positive step in the right direction – with retirement talk slightly tempered for now.
However, the 38-year-old now faces the challenge of having to recover from an intense four-hour match ahead of a busy day on Saturday.
Nadal is set to be back on court for his singles semi-final against qualifier Duje Ajduković, who defeated Thiago Monteiro earlier on Friday.
However, he is also meant to continue his doubles campaign alongside Casper Ruud.
The pairing is set to come up against Brazilians Orlando Luz and Rafael Fabris de Matos tomorrow, with tournament organisers now facing a potential scheduling dilemma.
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