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Spain’s Rafael Nadal continues his bid for an unpredictable Grand Slam by beating Francisco Cerundolo to win his return to Wimbledon.
Nadal, 36, had two sets and split before the Argentine took third.
Cerundolo broke early in the fourth round but Nadal regained the momentum to win the final 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-4 on Center Court.
Nadal fears he may have to retire last year because of chronic leg pain but has won the Australian Open and French Open titles this year.
The 22-time major champion also fears the problem will knock him out of Wimbledon.
A two-time Wimbledon winner, Nadal has not competed at the All England Club since 2019 and received an affectionate reception on what ended up being a triumphant return to Center Court.
“All credit to Fran, he’s started playing great, he’s a very difficult opponent to play,” said Nadal.
“For me, it’s clear that I haven’t been here for three years on this great surface and it’s great to be back.
“It’s not a pitch that we play on a regular basis and I haven’t set foot on it in three years.”
Nadal needed an anesthetic to numb the pain at Roland Garros, saying he “can’t and doesn’t want” to continue playing under those circumstances.
But after radiofrequency ablation – which uses heat to act on nerves to quell long-term pain – he decided to travel to London.
Nadal overcomes wobble to ensure victory again
Support grew when Nadal overcame a match against Cerundolo, who is ranked 41st in the world but only won his first ATP match on grass earlier this month.
The two sides exchanged breaks early in the first set before Nadal made a double error to win the third break 4-4.
But he saved that by making a tough first serve, holding on and that proved important.
Nadal flourished as Cerundolo faced serve pressure to stay in the opener, taking the second set point after rocking his opponent with a pair of reverse serves.
The pair traded shots from the baseline in the second set, but Nadal’s power was superior and he moved a set from winning with a single break to game six.
When Nadal broke 2-1, a consecutive set win was seen as a formality.
But the 23-year-old Argentinian immediately flipped back and then shocked Center by delivering Nadal’s serve to take a 5-3 lead.
The mood turned nervous for Nadal and his fans as Cerundolo won the set and then took a 2-1 lead in the fourth round.
But, with the possibility of the match going to the end, Cerundolo let a terrible match with a score of 4-3.
Nadal used all his experience to win and break the love, going on to win the last two games and taking a tough win after three hours and 33 minutes.
What else happened in the men’s draw?
Big news in men’s singles came early on Monday when the Italian team Matteo Berrettinilast year’s finalist and one of the favorites, withdraw from the tournament after being attacked by Covid-19.
Another notable exit came on the field later when Canadian sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime was defeated in the opening game.
The US Open semi-finalist lost 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5) to the American world No. 45 Maxime Cressy, who continued his fine form after reaching the final of Eastbourne.
Auger-Aliassime’s compatriots Denis Shapovalova semi-finalist here last year, was intimidated by Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech but fought back to win 6-1 6-7 (6-8) 6-7 (4-7) 6 -4 6-1.
Eight-seeded Berrettini was tied in a tie with second-seeded Nadal, meaning they are expected to meet in the semi-finals.
As a result, Sweden’s Elias Ymer came on as a lucky loser and he lost 6-3 7-5 6-4 to Cristian Garin of Chile.
Berrettini’s slot like the opening goal on Court One was made by Australia Alex de Minaur, The same 19th seed won 6-1 6-3 7-5 over Hugo Dellien of Bolivia to set up a second game against England’s Jack Draper.
Bulgarian No. 18 seed Grigor Dimitrov missed the game with an injury in the first game against American Steve Johnson, the game was moved from Monday following a delay due to rain.
Dimitrov, who reached the semi-finals in 2014, won the opening set 6-4 but fell 2-5 in the second leg when he had to stop.
America’s 15th seed Reilly Opelka hit 21 aces in a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-4 win over Spain’s Carlos Taberner to advance to the second round.
