Rafael Nadal said that it would be difficult to make his Wimbledon debut. He responded by saying that they had not played on the surface in three years and that he hadn’t tried them since 2019. It was also not easy to prepare for the tournament without playing. This was not an insignificant warning. It was a terrible match for him at Wimbledon. There were 41 unforced mistakes, an outrage at what the Balearic is accustomed to, and he managed to escape against Francisco Cerundolo on the basis of his head and mental strength (6-4.6-3.3-6.
Nadal won but Nadal also lost. It was very much. It has not been an easy tournament debut for him, particularly in the time between 2012 and 2017, when he suffered his worst defeats, such as Lukas Rosol 2012 or Steve Darcis 2013. After winning two sets, Nadal began to lose his grip on the match. He suffered a fall in the third point of the third set. It was a scary moment, but it didn’t have any consequences.
The slip became amplified and altered in appearance. His tennis was the cause of his gradual decline and transformed a pleasant afternoon in London into a nightmare for Cerundolo. The Argentine was at the mercy his nerves as he faced Nadal for the first and only time. He was small and unable to find his tennis for nearly two hours.
Nadal was unsure, a break’ in the third unleashed a torrential play by the Argentine who saw himself as having possibilities against a Nadal who was enslaved by errors. As he had warned, the lack of memory on grass brought to the surface and matched a match that would have ended on the fastest track on most courts around the world.
Cerundolo got in Nadal’s heads and managed to force a fourth with his winning shots (30). Trip or setback He aimed for the second. The Argentine wasn’t satisfied with the partial so he chose the fifth. He was placed at 3-1, with break balls for 4-1. He had four great games, but Nadal saved them all. The reconquest began. The 4-2 that the scoreboard wore, was a mirage. Everyone knew Cerundolo was the set player in those four 4-1 balls. It was only a matter time before he returned to his original position. 4-2, 4-3 and 4-4.
In a quarter of a minute, Nadal turned the fear and ignored the uncertainty, making him one game closer to victory. He reached for Cerundolo’s arm and shook his head. The trap of not being the greatest in this respect, was too much. He waited for the guillotine to reach the first match point, but his serve was weak. Fire extinguished after Nadal’s win.
His team is now broken with Matteo Berrettini and Marin Cilic out for covid, and Sam Querrey being eliminated in round one. This Thursday’s second round will be against Ricardas Berrankis from Lithuania, who he defeated at the ATP 250 in Melbourne.