RAFAEL NADAL STORMS INTO HIS FIRST ATP TOUR SEMI-FINAL IN TWO YEARS AHEAD OF OLYMPICS BID

Rafael Nadal is giving plenty of positive indications ahead of his big for Olympic gold after he moved into his first ATP Tour semi-final since the 2022 French Open.

That run in Paris ended with Nadal’s most recent Grand Slam title, as he beat Casper Ruud in the final and now he is on the same side of the new as the Norwegian as they compete together in the doubles at the Nordea Open in Bastad.

Nadal will play doubles alongside compatriot and newly recrowned Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz at the Paris Olympics and he is warming up for that appearance by playing some thrilling doubles with Ruud in Sweden.

The pair have always shared a cordial relationship and played exhibition events together in South America at the end of 2022.

After a disappointing defeat Ruud in the singles as he lost 6-3 6-3 to Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro in the second round, he dusted himself down and returned to the court to partner Nadal to a thrilling win in the doubles.

The duo saved a match point before winning the match tie-break 12-10 against Theo Arribage and Roman Safiullin to reach the semi-finals.

“When you cannot win singles you have to try to win doubles,” Ruud said afterwards. “It was not the best beginning of the day, but a very nice way to finish the day for me.

“Winning alongside Rafa was a special today. We saved a match point so a bit lucky, and we look forward to the next match.”

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Nadal was full of praise for his partner after he shook off the disappointment of losing in the singles to perform so well in the doubles.

“It was an emotional match,” said Nadal said. “Not easy to be on court after losing singles, but Casper played so well.

“Well done for him. We had some fun. A good level of tennis. We enjoyed it. The crowd was amazing. Full crowd in a doubles match. That’s fantastic.”

After he confirmed he has entered the US Open, it is clear that Nadal’s physical issues appear to be in better order than they were as he started his comeback earlier this year.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion suffered plenty of false starts to his comeback after he missed most of 2023 and confirmed this was likely to be his final year on the tour.

Yet the signs appear to be positive for Nadal as he looks to have a final push for Olympic gold in Paris, with the tournament being staged at the Roland Garros venue where he has won a remarkable 14 French Open titles.

Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry has been training with Nadal and he suggests he is getting back to his best ahead of his Olympic bid.

“Nadal has been flat out, I’d say he’s playing very well,” said Etcheverry.

“I’ve had the chance to ask him things, ask for advice, and he was always very humble, helping, making progress, and he had a lot of time for everyone.

“These days have been a dream for me, a really amazing experience, above all spending time with Rafa, a player I’ve been watching since I started to play tennis, one of the best in history, so it was crazy. It was a privilege and an honour.”

Nadal will return to singles action against British number two Cameron Norrie on Thursday and he will also have to fit in another doubles match with Ruud on Friday.

2024-07-17T23:34:01Z dg43tfdfdgfd