Rafael Nadal has reached his first final since the 2022 French Open by rallying to beat Duje Ajdukovic 4-6 6-3 6-4 at the clay-court Nordea Open in Bastad.

After needing four hours to beat the 36th-ranked Mariano Navone in Friday's quarter-finals, Nadal had a slow start against Ajdukovic on Saturday and was a break down in the second set before turning things around.

"My opponent had one of the best backhands that I played against," Nadal said.

"It was very, very difficult, honestly, but I found a way to survive and be through to that final after a long time without being in a final. So that's great news and I'm very happy with that.

"I have won four matches in a row, something I was not able to make happen since two years ago.

"I am fighting during the whole tournament to be where I am today, and I think matches like yesterday's, like today's, help to improve a lot of things on court."

Nadal will play Portugal's Nuno Borges, who beat Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-3 6-4 in the other semi-final, in the final.

Nadal is playing at the tournament in Sweden for the first time since he won the title as a 19-year-old in 2005 as he prepares for the Olympic tournament on clay at Roland Garros in Paris.

The 38-year-old Nadal skipped Wimbledon as he did not want to switch surface to grass and then back to clay and risk injury. He has been dealing with hip and abdominal injuries over the past 18 months.

Germany's Olympic champion Alexander Zverev continued his strong warm-up for the Paris Games by reaching the Hamburg ATP final with a 6-2 6-4 win over Spain's Pedro Mart?nez.

Zverev injured his knee at Wimbledon but recovered to return to the clay in his home city, perfect preparation for next week's Paris Olympics at Roland Garros.

He sent down a remarkable 13 aces against Martinez and in Sunday's final faces Frenchman Arthur Fils, who beat Sebastian Baez of Argentina 6-2 6-2.

Zverev converted three of eight break points and was never broken himself, offering Mart?nez just one opportunity. The world No 4 prevailed on his second match point.