It does not impose the crushing superiority it shows over the clay of Roland Garros, but nonetheless Rafael Nadal continues his winning march in the circuit. Now on the lawn at Wimbledon. The left-hander from Manacor moved into the third round, with a tough victory over the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, on a day marked by some rain.
Nadal was a two-time Wimbledon champion, but a long time ago, in 2008 and 2010. He last reached the final in 2011, when he lost to Novak Djokovic. And he hadn’t played on the green British grass since 2019. That’s why, perhaps, he’s still looking to rediscover certain sensations that only come when you step on the All England grass. “Every day is a challenge, all rivals are difficult, especially in these conditions,” said Nadal, who at 36 is looking for his 23rd Grand Slam title and the third this year, after celebrating at the Australian Open and in Roland Garros.
On a cold and windy day, Rafa needed three hours to beat Berankis, number 106 in the world, 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, who never got beyond the second round in this tournament. In a similar way to what happened in his debut against Francisco Cerúndolo, Nadal showed some ups and downs. Oddly, he ended up with more unforced errors (39) than game winners (35), and seemed to suffer from some form of abdominal discomfort, for which he showed some cautionary tape. But, just like the Argentine, after dropping the third set he got an early break to get the development back on track in the fourth. An interruption due to rain that forced the roof to be closed did not alter the course of the Mallorcan’s victory.
“I need to improve. That’s the way things are, so it’s important for me to be humble and accept the challenge. Every day is an opportunity to do things better and today I gave myself the opportunity to move on, so I’m happy about that. I think that in the fourth set a good level of tennis was seen, the service worked much better and I was able to play more aggressively”, evaluated Nadal.
Then, and as has been the custom for some time in this part, between injuries and the advancement of the calendar, he was consulted about his possible retirement. And this time Rafa was revealing: “My philosophy is that a couple of weeks ago he was close to retirement. Now I don’t feel that way,” he said with a laugh. And then, more reflectively, he added: “I have never been afraid because that day will come. I am happy to have lived a very happy life outside of tennis, despite the fact that tennis is a very important part of my life in the last 30 years. But I’ve been happy outside of it, no doubt about it. There are many things that I like to do beyond tennis. It does not worry me, but it is clear that when that day comes I will experience a change. In life, every change requires time to adapt. It is normal for people to talk about the retirement of great athletes, since they have been in the elite for a long time, especially in very popular sports that are part of people’s lives. For example, I love to see Tiger Woods. But now I can’t see him play that often. I imagine that people will think the same of me, or fans of Roger [Federer] o Novak [Djokovic] when they are not playing.
The number 1 record
The number 1 in the world, Every Swiatek he also advanced at Wimbledon. The Polish woman beat Dutch Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on Court 1, and got her 37th consecutive win of the seasonin what is the longest streak in women’s tennis since Martina Hingis recorded the same number of wins in 1997. Ever since she was eliminated in the second round of the Dubai tournament last February, Swiatek has forgotten about losing, and he won the titles in Doha, Indian Wells and Miami, on cement, and then on clay in Stuttgart, Rome, Madrid and Roland Garros.
However, Swiatek, who was a junior champion at the All England in 2018, considered that she did not play well. ”I would say grass is quite difficult for me, I’m not going to lie. Anyone can see that I am not playing as well as on other surfaces,” she expressed. “My confidence is improving overall, but this tournament is tough, and I’m still looking for how to play my best game here,” she added. On Saturday she will face Frenchwoman Alizé Cornet, number 37 in the world ranking, in the third round.
Another casualty due to Covid
The Spanish Roberto Bautista Agut, 19th in the world, dropped out after announcing that he had tested positive for Covid-19, and thus did not show up for his meeting against the Colombian Daniel Elahi Galán, who thus automatically went on to the third round for the first time in his career.
The Covid begins to leave its mark at Wimbledon, where in addition to Bautista Agust, the Italian Matteo Berrettini, last year’s finalist, who started as a great threat along the path of Nadal, and also the Croatian Marin also announced his departure for contracting the virus. Cilic, 2017 finalist. The players say that nothing forces them to take tests or withdraw due to a positive, but that they prefer to do it for the good of all.
