Tennis: Rafael Nadal returns to form ahead of Paris Olympics, makes it to Nordea Open final, know

Rafael Nadal reached his first final after the 2022 French Open by defeating Duje Ajdukovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Nordea Open on Saturday. Nadal had earlier defeated 36th ranked Mariano Navon 6-7, 7-5, 7-5 in a four-hour match in the quarter-finals of the tournament being played on clay court.

He also made a brilliant comeback against Ajdukovic after falling behind in the first set and registering a win. Nadal won the title here in 2005 at the age of 19, after which he is playing here for the first time. He is preparing to play in the Olympics at Roland Garros in Paris. He defeated Leo Borg, son of Sweden's great player Bjorn Borg, in the first round. 38-year-old Nadal did not participate in Wimbledon. He has been battling hip and stomach injuries for the last one and a half years.

Thus the pair, Nadal along with the young sensation Carlos Alcaraz will be representing Spain in the Paris Olympics. The Spanish Tennis Federation in an announcement declared that Nadal-Alcaraz would play as a doubles pair in the Olympics. Alcaraz has been termed Nadal's successor. For Alcaraz, Nadal has been his childhood hero. Nadal has not only won 22 Grand Slams, but he has also captured the '08 Beijing Olympics singles gold and doubles gold with Marc Lopez at Rio in 2016.

This year, the young tennis player of Spain, Carlos Alcaraz, won the French Open in Paris. After this, he also won the Wimbledon title. Now he will try to aim for gold in the Paris Olympics along with Nadal. Both their pairs can prove to be dangerous in doubles.