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‘I’M ALIVE’: RAFA SURVIVES FOUR-HOUR EPIC IN BASTAD



38-year-old Rafael Nadal continues to defy physics at his age, claiming a come-from-behind 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-5 victory against Mariano Navone to reach the Bastad Open semi-finals in Sweden.


It marked the second-longest three-set encounter of Nadal’s glittering career, requiring exactly four hours to advance.


In a match scattered with comebacks, the Spaniard was slow to adjust early on, trailing a double break at 1-4 before clawing his way back down 3-5 to force an opening set tiebreak - only to drop his first set of the tournament.


The quality dropped from both players with double faults and unforced errors providing a real scrap, as it was Nadal’s turn to let slip a double break of his own at 0-3 before recovering to force a decider.


If that wasn’t chaotic enough, fourth seed Navone had the opportunity to serve for 3-0, only to tighten up and hand Nadal a double break buffer for 5-2.


In a gruelling tussle from the baseline, it was Nadal who lost momentum to inexplicably lose that advantage, until a 10th break of the match for the king of clay was enough to conclude a remarkable clash.


When asked if he will recover in time, Nadal admitted, “We will see. Today I’m alive and in the semi-finals.”


The 20-time Grand Slam champion is into his first semi-final since Wimbledon 2022, a match he was forced to withdraw against Nick Kyrgios.


Nadal, offered a wildcard into the event, is scheduled to face Croatia’s Duje Ajduković in the semis as well as partnering Casper Ruud in the men’s doubles.


Tournament organisers will be anxious as they await Nadal’s decision on whether he will pull out of Bastad due to work overload, with the Paris Olympics set to commence in under seven days.


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