Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal struggles against Berankis
Rafael Nadal (ATP No. 4) has barely reached the third round at Wimbledon. He didn't offer a masterly performance against Ricardas Berankis, but picked up the tempo in the decisive moments.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Jun 30, 2022, 09:17 pm
He didn't win the beauty award this time, but in the end that's hardly the point. And that's how Rafael Nadal stands after a 6: 4, 6: 4, 4: 6 and 6: 3 over Ricardas Berankis in round 3 at the All England Championships 2022.
But Nadal had to cheat his way through. Berankis had his first break chance at 2: 2 in the first round, but in the end it was he who made four unnecessary mistakes at 5: 4 for Nadal. In the second round he was in the lead with the break and 3-1, but in the end Nadal cheered again. In the third round he did better, took the serve directly from Nadal and transported it. And in set four: it was Nadal again, who set the course early on, but had to take a short break in the rain at 3-1.
Rafael Nadal: "Too many mistakes at the beginning"
The match itself, especially at the beginning, was extremely mixed, Nadal made a lot of slight mistakes, the frame was often in play, the balls were often too long - although the conditions on the center court were also windy.
As in round 1, a set loss for Rafa, who at least ended the match with an ace, his twelfth. In addition to a total of 34 winning strokes, there are also 39 unneeded errors in the statistics.
"Every day is a challenge," said Nadal afterwards - he hardly played on grass, "and every day gives me an opportunity to keep playing." But it is clear that he needs to improve. "The fourth set was much better, the serve worked better. I was able to play more aggressively with the forehand. In the beginning there were too many mistakes." But, Nadal very Nadal: He has to remain humble about everything, every match gives him the opportunity to improve.
Then probably the next one, in which it is against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego - quite an expert on grass. As a reminder: Sonego won the ATP tournament in Antalya in 2019. Against his second round opponent in Wimbledon, Hugo Gaston, he didn't burn much at 7: 6, 6: 4, 6: 4.
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