Tennis player Rafael Nadal has reported to London to prepare for Wimbledon. The 22-time grand slam winner does this by playing a few demonstration matches. A foot injury prevented him from playing in tournaments in recent weeks.
On Wednesday, the 36-year-old Spaniard played on a grass court of the Hurlingham Club in London. He defeated Swiss Stan Wawrinka in straight sets: 6-2 6-3. It was Nadal’s first match on grass since he lost in the semifinals in 2019 to his eternal rival Roger Federer. “It was a while ago. I haven’t played tennis on grass since 2019; first because of the pandemic, last year due to an injury. I’m also getting older and can’t play that many games anymore. Wimbledon here to play a few matches and get a bit of a competitive feeling,” said Nadal.
Nadal has already won the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year and can take the next step in London to winning the four Grand Slam tournaments in one calendar year. The Australian Rod Laver last did that in 1969. The main tournament at Wimbledon starts on Monday.
Novak Djokovic, winner of the last three editions, also played at the Hurlingham Club. The Serb defeated Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime: 6-2 6-1.