June 29, (THEWILL) – Rafael Nadal overcame a determined Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday, to win his first-round Wimbledon match 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-3, dropping one set along the way.
The record-setting 22-time Grand Slam champion fought valiantly to win the first set, gave up the third set, and then rallied from a break down in the fourth to advance to the next round and avoid being dragged into a first-round five-setter with a potential massive upset looming for the trophy favourite.
After taking the third set, the momentum was with Cerundolo and he rode on it to break a Nadal serve in their marathon third game of the fourth set, taking it with a vicious forehand winner. At 3-1 up, Cerundolo almost secured a double break but Nadal was able to claw back all four break points in typical fashion.
The world number four used all his experience to wrap the contest up on Cerundolo’s serve at 4-5, converting his one and only match point as the Argentine hit his backhand wide.
World number 106 Ricardas Berankis defeated 2017 semi-finalist Sam Querrey on Court 5 in straight sets, setting up a second round meeting with Nadal.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
