Wimbledon: cheers for Francisco Cerundolo, but Rafa Nadal advances

Match lasted more than three and a half hours

The road to Wimbledon begins with a victory for Rafa Nadal, but to beat Francisco Cerundolo, number 41 in the Atp rankings, the Spaniard has to resort to his best strokes quite a few times and even leaves a set on the way. On the London grass, it ends 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 for Nadal, who needs more than three and a half hours to win the decisive point and earn access to the second round, where he will find Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis (Sam Querrey’s executioner in three sets: 6-4, 7-5, 6-3).

For Nadal it is a first step toward what, if successful, would be his third consecutive slam. Since 2011, Novak Djokovic has won the Wimbledon tournament six times, which was not played in 2020 because of the pandemic. When it was not the Serb who lifted the top trophy it was Roger Federer, in 2012 and 2017, and Andy Murray, in 2013 (beating Djokovic himself in the final, by the way), and 2016. Nadal, who is still in the running for the Grand Slam in 2022, last triumphed on London’s grass in 2010, defeating Berdych in three sets in the last act: 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.