Nadal's back against the wall in Bastad!
© AFP
Rafael Nadal's first match in Bastad was more difficult than his first two.
Making his return to competition this week in Sweden, the King of clay just conceded the first set of his tournament.
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Faced with Mariano Navone, a true surface specialist, 'Rafa' lacked cutting edge and found himself trailing by a set (7-6 after 1h25 of play).
After quickly falling behind by two breaks (4-1), the Majorcan didn't give up, even winning two set points.
Physically solid, Nadal seemed well on the way to reversing the set's outcome.
In the end, the opposite happened. With a near-perfect tiebreak, the Argentine blew his opponent away and is now just one set away from denying Nadal a semi-final appearance in Sweden.
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