Without bringing his A-game to the court, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal secured his spot in Wimbledon’s third round by producing a hard-earned 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 victory over Lithuanian player Ricardas Berankis after three hours on Centre Court.
In his on-court interview, the second seed outlined: “Every day is a challenge, that’s the truth. All the opponents are difficult, we are playing against the best players of the world, and especially in these conditions, it will be more [difficult].”
The Spaniard added: “I didn’t play much on grass for the past three years. Every day is an opportunity to improve, and today I am through, so that gives me the chance to keep going. [I am] very happy for that.”
The weather took the spotlight halfway into the fourth set, suspending play for nearly 50 minutes. Due to the rain, the court got covered, with the players heading into the restrooms.
Once the roof was closed, the players hit back the court to play the remaining games as if they’d never left.
As happened in his opening match at the major, Nadal dropped a set against his adversary, failing to display his best tennis throughout the matchup.
However, the two-time champion has found on his path two players, Argentine player Francisco Cerundolo and Berankis, who played very well against the World No. 4, the latter poising quite a test for the 36-year-old.
In the end, Nadal’s trademark resilience, talent, and experience led him into a far from perfect but solid victory, continuing his quest for a calendar Grand Slam.
“I need to improve. But I think the fourth set was much better, I served much better at the end of the match,” he said.
Further stressing: “In the end, I was able to play a little bit more aggressively with the forehand.
“At the beginning, there were too many mistakes, but that’s a process. It is important for me to accept that things are not perfect and [that I need to] keep working, being humble and accept the challenge, and think positive things all the time, even when things are not going the best way possible.”
Nadal took the opener 6-4 in 43 minutes; it was a tight first set that Berankis lost with a backhand unforced error.
The Spaniard hit six winners (4 aces), recording 13 unforced errors, winning 82 percent of his first-serve points compared to his opponent’s nine winners, 14 unforced errors, winning 65 percent of his first-serve points.
In the second set, the 32-year-old Lithuanian regrouped, breaking his rival serve to open a 2-1 advantage, holding to lead 3-1. But the 14-time Roland Garros titlist would break back, rallying to level up 3-3, and from there, he marched to secure a 6-4 win in 52 minutes.
The World No. 106 fought back, breaking early to open a 2-1 lead; serving well, Berankis maintained the momentum, wrapping up the third set 6-4 after 46 minutes.
Janko Tipsarevic’s pupil won 87 percent of his first-serve points to the Manacor native 59 percent.
Moreover, he fired seven winners, converting one of two break point opportunities, firing two unforced errors.
The fourth set, which turned into a highly competitive decider, saw Nadal quickly 3-0 up in the score before play got disrupted by the rain.
When it resumed, nearly an hour later under Centre Court roof, the battle intensified, bringing the best from both contenders.
Berankis set off to narrow the gap to 3-1, taking the fourth game with a service winner, though regardless of all his efforts, he would not be able to deny Nadal the victory.
The man who keeps firmly walking towards the chance of winning a record 23rd Grand Slam served out a 6-3 triumph in 41 minutes, moving into the third round for the 11th time in 15 appearances at Wimbledon.
Overall, Nadal hit 35 winners (13 aces), committing 39 unforced errors, winning 72 percent (56/78) of his first-serve points and 61 percent with his second serve, converting 4 of 16 break point opportunities.
Berankis, who on Tuesday defeated American Sam Querrey in his debut match, won 73 percent of the points at the net against 50 percent from the Spanish player, with an inspired tennis performance.
On Saturday, Carlos Moya’s pupil will face for the first time on Tour the 27th seed Lorenzo Sonego, who ousted Frenchman Hugo Gaston in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4 after two hours and 30 minutes.
The World No. 54 opened his campaign at the event prevailing over American Denis Kudla after a hard-fought five-setter.
His best result on grass this season came in Stuttgart, reaching the quarterfinals, losing to compatriot Matteo Berrettini in three sets.