Rafa qualified for the second round after a disputed match against Francisco Cerúndolo
His next rival will be Ricardas Berankis on Thursday
Rafael Nadal made his debut at Wimbledon with a hard-fought and hard-fought victory against the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and will play the second round this Thursday against the Lithuanian Ricardas Berankiswho eliminated Sam Querrey in just three sets 6-4, 7-5 and 6-3.
But the duel against Cerúndolo was not easy at all, which made things difficult for Rafa in this first match on the grass of the central court of the All England Club. The Argentine reacted when he found himself with the duel lost and free from the tension and nerves of making his debut against one of his idols, he became a better player who even won a set against the Mallorcan.
The first set in which Cerúndolo resisted was very tough and it was not until the tenth game that the Majorcan broke which automatically became the win in the first round. Little by little Rafa settled on the court and the sensations went from less to more with the passage of the points, some of them of authentic exhibition with incredible balls that both saved ‘in extremis’ for the enjoyment of a stand completely dedicated to Nadal . Very even games and complications to carry out the services were the dynamics of this first round.
Something faster Nadal put the second set on track since he quickly put the 4-2 on the scoreboard and from then on, Cerundolo, despite the fact that he forced the man from Manacorí to put on overalls, was unable to come back and found himself down two sets against a Rafa who devoted himself time and time again to cutting off the Argentine’s reaction attempts.
Cerúndolo takes the third set
The matter was complicated in the third set when, despite the fact that Rafa quickly took the lead (2-1 with a break), in the next game the Argentine achieved a counterbreak that forced Nadal to put one more gear if he wanted to settle the duel as soon as possible. possible. It seemed that Cerúndolo had freed himself from the corset that had tied him down from the start and kept his serve to reach the eighth game and give the surprise with another break (3-5). She was facing a golden opportunity to win a set from the second seed of the tournament and she did not waste it.
With work overalls
It was time to work to get the victory, but Nadal is struggling in this type of situation. But if things had gotten complicated, they became uglier at the start of the fourth set when Cerúndolo took the lead after breaking Nadal’s service. The Mallorcan had to change something to break the good dynamics in which his rival had entered. Little by little he began to look for a more decisive tennis and despite the fact that Francisco continued to hold on at a great level, in the eighth game he gave up serve and blank. A very important blow of effect. He balanced the score again (4-4).
Nadal wanted to close the match as soon as possible and did not want to entertain himself any longer, achieving 5-4 with a fast game where the serve worked perfectly for him and he would not let Cerúndolo worry him anymore and the next game, shooting with determination, he took the victory and went to the second round.
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