Rafael Nadal on Thursday was again forced to dig deep to reach the Wimbledon third round, as women’s top seed Iga Swiatek survived a stumble to win her 37th match on the spin.
The Spanish second seed, chasing a calendar Grand Slam, recovered from losing the third set for the second straight match to beat Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Earlier, Spanish 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut became the third potential dangerman in Nadal’s half of the draw to pull out with COVID-19, following the withdrawals of last year’s runner-up Matteo Berrettini and 2017 finalist Marin Cilic.
Photo: Reuters
Nadal has also benefited from a shock first-round exit for Canadian sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who took him to five sets at the French Open.
Nadal looked comfortable in the first two sets against Berankis, but was broken in his first service game of the third set and could not claw his way back.
However, the Spaniard regrouped and raced into a 3-0 lead in the fourth set, sealing the match with an ace after it resumed under the roof following a sharp rain shower.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who has not played at Wimbledon since reaching the 2019 semi-finals, admitted he needed to step up his game as he prepares to face Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
“I didn’t play much on grass in three years,” he said. “It gives me the chance to keep going, so very happy for that. I need to improve. The fourth set was much better... I have to keep working, be humble, even when things are not going well.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios remain two of Nadal’s biggest challenges and they meet today in a mouthwatering contest.
Kyrgios was on his best behavior on court as he steamrollered Serbian 26th seed Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in just 85 minutes.
Fourth seed Tsitsipas had few problems in defeating Australia’s Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.
Poland’s Swiatek needed just over two hours to see off Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Swiatek was in early trouble before winning four games in a row to take the first set, but went down a break in the second and could not recover.
However, the Pole took charge in the decider, breaking for a 3-1 lead and closing out the match.
She surpassed Monica Seles’ 36-match winning streak from 1990 and matched Martina Hingis’ 37-match winning run from 1997.
“I would say the grass is pretty tricky for me, I’m not going to lie,” said Swiatek, who next faces France’s Alize Cornet.
“I guess you can see that I’m not playing maybe as efficiently as on other surfaces,” she said. “Basically my confidence is getting better overall, but this tournament is tricky and I’m still feeling out how to play the best game here.”
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Sam Stosur of Australia crashed out in the first round when the 12th seeds were beaten 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 by Aliona Bolsova of Spain and Ingrid Neel of the US.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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