Rafael Nadal may have had his first “farewell tour” of the year after having this one in Bastad

After 20 years gone, he is returning, playing doubles with a friend, displaying his lighter side, and after a marathon triumph, he has advanced to the semifinals.

Were you aware of Rafael Nadal’s humor? It appears he’s prepared to show off his lighter side as he begins his journey into the sunset, after two decades of racking up majors and dominating opponents.

Prior to facing Leo Borg in his opening round match this week in Bastad, Sweden, Rafael claimed to have emailed Leo’s illustrious father, Bjorn. He informed his Laver Cup captain that Bjorn was “giving the boy good tactics,” which made him decide not to participate, since he wanted to be confident heading into that competition.

Rafa hastily clarified, “Only jokes, only jokes,” as if anybody could have wondered differently.

Following his victory over Casper Ruud in his opening-round doubles match, the Spaniard and the Norwegian engaged in some lighthearted joking. First, according to Ruud, Rafa is “getting old” and might not be able to tolerate delays caused by rain as well as he previously could. Rafa then grinned and told Ruud that he “hoped to see Norway in the important competitions” in the future when he was questioned about Spain’s success in the Euros.

At last, on Friday, Nadal prevailed over Mariano Navone after a three-hour and fifty-nine-minute titanic battle. The quarterfinal oscillated six times back and forth. Rafa lost two match points when serving, but he recovered to win 6-7 (2), 7-5, and 7-5. When asked about his thoughts on the match, Nadal managed to laugh despite his tiredness.

“I had some control for a brief while. He had a brief period of control. Nobody was in charge at the end, he remarked, laughing.

That was a fair evaluation, but it didn’t adequately recognize the enormous amount of work that both of them put in.

They sent each other sliding from one sideline to the other while playing 262 points, many of which were lengthy. In the opening set, Nadal had two set points, but he tightened up on both. Rafa overcame Navone’s three-point deficit to win the final three games in the second set. In the third set, Nadal had a two-break lead at 5-2, but Navone eased back up to even the score at 5-5.

Nadal finally finished with what may have been his best performance of the match on his third attempt, which featured two brilliant backhand-volley wins.

Every set had shifting dynamics, according to Rafael Nadal. “I didn’t stay concentrated all the time. For a short while, I couldn’t focus.

Despite those slip-ups, Nadal has had a great “farewell tour” this week—possibly the first of the year. He’s returning to Bastad to compete in a tournament he won in 2005, one of his first on-tour events. He is accompanied by his wife, son, mother, and father. Playing doubles with his good friend Ruud has been enjoyable for him. They have the semifinals scheduled for this Saturday, but we’ll see if he’s ready for that. Additionally, he has triumphed in three straight singles bouts, defeating former Top Tenner Cam Norrie in one of them. On Friday, he faced the physically demanding Navone, a 15-year-old who is the latest in a long line of opponents who looked up to him growing up.

“I am alive and in the semifinals today,” said a relieved Rafael Nadal.

All of which is wonderful news because in just one week, Rafa’s season will take a dramatic turn. At that point, he will return to Paris with the Spanish Olympic squad. In addition to playing singles, Rafael Nadal is slated to play doubles partnering Carlos Alcaraz. Given his past performance at Roland Garros, does Rafa appear prepared to repeat that feat?

After today, it’s probably safe to assume that he’s physically capable. He did appear worn out in the closing portions of the game against Navone, but in the final two games, he returned to full strength. He claims that his forehand and backhand are playing well together, and that his backhand in particular allowed him to move past Norrie.

After defeating Norrie, he remarked, “I think I played some good tennis, in some moments I need to play a little bit more aggressive, but that is part of the journey today.”

“I need to get better at staying in rhythm and applying pressure to the opposition throughout the entire game.”

There were two obvious weaknesses against Navone.

Navone first succeeded in doing what Rafa has always done best: hitting his opponent’s backhand with hard, high-bouncing forehands that force him to reach up above his shoulder in an attempt to return the ball. Occasionally, Nadal lacked the confidence to take such shots as they were rising, which led to him lobbing them back and giving up the point. That might be a strategy used by others against him in Paris on clay.

Secondly, Nadal struggled to close. In the first set, he blew set points; in the second, he led 3-0 and with two breaks; in the third, he led 5-2 and with two breaks. For the most part of his career, finishing games has been a strength; nevertheless, during his bad runs, it has been a problem. He appeared to have overcome his nervousness and returned to his former clay confidence by the end of the match against Navone. We’ll check on that on Saturday and into the following week.

In reference to Saturday, Rafa will need to recover quickly after his semifinal matchup against Duje Ajdukovic, who is rated 130th. He might also play doubles semifinals with Ruud as his partner. The Olympics can wait for now.

“Let’s see how I am tomorrow,” Rafa stated. You never know at 38.

Rafael NadalTennis
By TennisLeave a Comment on Rafael Nadal may have had his first “farewell tour” of the year after having this one in Bastad

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *