(Bastad) Rafael Nadal overcame a fall and a 4-1 deficit in the second set to secure a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Cameron Norrie in the round of 16 of the Bastad Open tennis tournament on Thursday.
Nadal fell in the first game of the second set after attempting a slip on the Swedish clay. He was then visited by a sports therapist and treated for minor scratches. He then gave up a break, before winning the last five games of the match to reach his first quarter-final since January.
“I have a good feeling; I haven’t played on the tour since Roland Garros and I had the chance to face a great player in Cameron,” Nadal said. “It’s part of the process. I haven’t played many tournaments lately, so matches like today help me, and I know I have to learn to keep the pressure on my opponent for the whole match because I haven’t played enough lately.”
Nadal is playing in the tournament in Sweden for the first time since he triumphed there as a 19-year-old in 2005, and the competition serves as a warm-up for the Olympic tournament on clay at Roland Garros later this month.
He beat Leo Borg, the son of Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg, in the first round on Tuesday. It was his first singles match since losing to Alexander Zverev in the first round of the French Open. He also won in the first round of doubles on Monday with Casper Ruud.
The 38-year-old Spaniard missed Wimbledon because he did not want to have to adapt to new playing surfaces ahead of the Olympic tournament, which would have increased his risk of injury. He has been bothered by hip and abdominal injuries over the past year and a half.