Rafael Nadal sweeps into Swedish Open third round after win over Cameron Norrie

Rafael Nadal recovered from 4-1 down in the second set to claim victory over British number two Cameron Norrie in the second round of the Swedish Open at Bastad.

The 38-year-old, who opted to miss Wimbledon in order focus efforts on the Paris Olympics, had his serve broken by number-five seed Norrie who was looking to level the match after going down 6-4 in the first set.

But having received treatment on court to his arm after talking a heavy fall, Nadal came back to claim a 6-4 win in the set and progress to the quarter-final where he will face Argentinian Mariono Navone.

“Great feelings, it’s been a while without playing on the Tour since Roland Garros and I had a chance to compete against a great player like Cameron,” said Nadal.

“It’s part of the journey today. I haven’t been competing very often so matches like today help and holding the pressure on the opponent for the whole game is something I need to improve on because I haven’t played enough.”

Nadal, who will play singles and doubles with Carlos Alcaraz in Paris, broke Norrie once in the first set to set up what at the stage looked like being a routine win, but having fallen behind in the second required a five-game winning run in order to edge through.

He will play the doubles semi-final with Casper Ruud on Saturday.

Published: 18/07/2024 by Radio NewsHub