Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek both progressed into the third round at the All England Club
Rafael Nadal is through to the third round of the Wimbledon Championships after facing another test on Thursday while Iga Swiatek was also made to work hard for her victory.
Nadal made it successive four-set victories, after being pushed by Francisco Cerundolo in his first-round match on Tuesday.
The 36-year-old will now take on Lorenzo Sonego in the third round as he looks to make his way through the draw and continue his quest for a 23rd Grand Slam title.
The result was Nadal’s 307th Grand Slam match win, putting him one ahead of Martina Navratilova and fourth on the all-time list. However, with more unforced errors than winners during the contest, his post-match assessment was frank.
Nadal is playing in his first Wimbledon Championships since 2019
“It’s important for me to accept that things are not yet perfect, be humble and accept the challenge,” he said.
“Every day is a challenge, all the opponents are difficult – we are playing the best players in the world.
“I didn’t play much on grass in the last three years so every day is an opportunity to improve. I’m through and I’m very happy with that.
“I need to improve. But the fourth set was much better, a good level of tennis and the serve worked better.”
Nadal spent just over three hours on Centre Court with a rain delay in the middle to shut the roof
Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Nick Kyrgios needed less than 90 minutes to beat the 26th seed and Queen’s Club finalist Filip Krajinovic 6-2 6-3 6-1 on No 2 Court.
The Australian lost just nine points on serve and said that he’d played with a point to prove, for a number of reasons.
“I guess just from a personal performance standpoint, my performance in my first round was just not where I wanted to be,” he noted.
“Especially with the way I’ve been playing and the way I’ve been training, the hard work I’ve been doing. I was pretty disappointed in my performance in the first round.
“Then obviously the media’s disrespect and just everything, it was just kind of a reminder to put you all back in your place from the performance today.
“He made finals at Queen’s, top 30 in the world, seeded. It’s a gentle reminder.”
Kyrgios’ victory set up a mouthwatering third-round clash with Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was equally as impressive in dispatching Australia’s Jordan Thompson 6-2 6-3 7-5.
Brandon Nakashima has never been past the first round at the Championships before
Brandon Nakashima of the United States knocked 13th-seeded Denis Shapovalov out, beating the Canadian 6-2 4-6 6-1 7-6 (8-6).
Shapovalov reached the semi-finals at the All England Club last year, but it was Nakashima’s day.
The 20-year-old, who is ranked 56th in the world, will next face Daniel Elahi Galan. The Colombian advanced to the third round when Roberto Bautista Agut withdrew after testing positive for Covid-19.
Swiatek prevails after tricky afternoon
Swiatek had to work her way through significant challenges on No 1 Court
World No 1 Iga Swiatek extended her winning streak to 37 matches a little earlier in the day with a three-set victory over Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove, but admitted to still finding the grass “pretty tricky”.
The Polish player was able to equal the 1997 efforts of Martina Hingis with this latest triumph but is keen to play down the expectations on her following the 6-4 4-6 6-3 result.
“Honestly during a match I don’t even think about the previous matches and the streak because I don’t think it’s giving me anything at that point,” the 21-year-old said.
“I would say the grass is pretty tricky for me. I’m not going to lie. I mean, I guess you can see that I’m not playing maybe as efficiently as on other surfaces.
“Basically my confidence is getting better overall,” she continued. “But this tournament is tricky and I’m still feeling out how to play the best game here.”
Gauff impresses on Centre Court
American teenager Coco Gauff unleashed her mighty serve to beat Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-2 6-3 on Centre Court.
The Roland-Garros finalist broke Buzarnescu’s serve in the fourth game and launched a 122mph rocket to win the fifth game, the fastest serve so far in the women’s tournament.
She broke the Romanian again to close out the first set in a brisk 31 minutes.
The 18-year-old slipped and fell in the sixth game of the second set but never lost her poise, forcing Buzarnescu into an error in the eighth to break her serve.
Gauff closed out the contest with three successive aces and set up a third-round showdown with compatriot Amanda Anisimova.
“I’m pretty honoured to be on Centre Court today, especially following Nadal… that’s pretty special too,” the teenager said.
“Thank you guys for staying, I know it’s been a long day and I appreciate you staying to watch me.”
Kirsten Flipkens played the final singles match of her career, as she lost 7-5 6-4 to Simona Halep. Flipkens was a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2013 and junior champion in 2003 and received a great ovation as she left No 2 Court.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova advanced to the third round by beating Ana Bogdan 6-1 7-6 (7-5).
Kvitova led 5-1 in the second set and had her first match point while serving at 5-4, but she converted the second when Bogdan sent a backhand into the net.
The 25th-seeded Czech, who came into the tournament after winning the grass-court tune-up at Eastbourne, will next face Paula Badosa. The fourth-seeded Spaniard defeated Irina Bara 6-3 6-2 and spent just 72 minutes on No 2 Court.
Elena Rybakina knocked out the former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-4 7-6 (7-5), while Amanda Anisimova came through in three against her compatriot Lauren Davis 2-6 6-3 6-4.
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