"Casper Ruud sobbing in bed right now";"Sensible" - Fans react as Rafael Nadal withdraws from doubles after reaching Nordea Open singles final

Following his semifinal win over Duje Ajdukovic at the Nordea Open on Saturday, Rafael Nadal announced his withdrawal from the doubles event along with partner Casper Ruud. Many fans saw it as a sensible decision by the Spaniard, while others felt it was unfair to the Norwegian.

Nadal played a marathon four-hour quarterfinal against Mariano Navone on Friday and followed it up with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over a two-hour long semifinal against Ajdukovic on Saturday. He won both matches and advanced into his first final on tour since the 2022 French Open.

Just hours after his singles semifinal on July 20, Nadal was expected to play the doubles semifinal alongside Ruud against the third seeded Brazilian pairing of Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos. However, in the press conference after his singles match, Nadal announced that he was withdrawing from the doubles event.

Rafael Nadal is prioritizing the singles final which will be played on Sunday, July 21. According to Tennis Weekly Podcast's X account, when Nadal was asked about Ruud's reaction to the withdrawal, the Spaniard claimed that they were both professionals and he would advise the Norwegian to do the same if the roles were reversed.

Fans, however, had a mixed reaction to the situation. Many claimed the 22-time Grand Slam winner made the right choice.

"Yeah that's not surprising and makes sense. I'm sure Ruud completely understands as well," one fan said.

"People will call Rafa selfish for this but this is the most sensible decision that man has ever taken in his life wrt his body and it's only taken him 37 years," another fan said.

"Good news!! Rafa needs to rest a little more," one fan said.

However, some fans were not pleased with the decision.

"Selfish prick who doesn't give 2 f*cks about his partner," one fan said.

"Casper’s probably sobbing in his bed right now," another fan said.

"Ruud seduced and abandoned," one fan said.

---

Rafael Nadal will face Nuno Borges in the Nordea Open final

Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2024 - Day Two (Credits: Getty)

Seventh seed Nuno Borges got the better of Thiago Agustin Tirante in the semifinal of the Nordea Open 6-3, 6-4 to set up a final against Rafael Nadal on Sunday, July 21. This will be Borges' first final on the ATP tour.

For Rafael Nadal, this will be his first final in two years and his 131st singles final, overall. He was happy to reach the final after facing a difficult period in his career.

“It’s always a great feeling to be in a final. I won 4 matches in a row. I wasn’t able to make that happen since 2 years ago. A lot of things happened. That’s the truth," Nadal said during his on-court interview.

The last time Nadal played at the Nordea Open was in 2005, and he won the tournament that year.