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6/22/10 10:48 PM | Ricky Dimon
Rafael Nadal is through to the second round of Wimbledon after a straight-set victory over Kei Nishikori on Tuesday. Next up for Nadal is Robin Haase.
While No. 1 seed Roger Federer barely scraped through his Wimbledon opener on Monday, Rafael Nadal encountered none of the same problems in his first-round clash on Tuesday. Nadal rolled over Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-4, 6-4, advancing in two hours and five minutes.
The second-seeded Spaniard set the tone right from the start, winning a four-deuce game for a match-opening break. Nadal saved a pair of break points at 2-1 to consolidate the advantage before adding another break for 5-2. He promptly served out the set in routine fashion, clinching it with a forehand winner.
Nishikori started to provide some resistance during the second frame of play, holding his first four service games and taking his opponent to deuce at 4-3. After failing to break, however, the Japanese sensation cracked at 4-4 by squandering three game points. A double-fault at deuce followed by an errant forehand put him in a 4-5 hole. Nadal made no mistake with the gift, battling through a tough service game to capitalize on his third set-point opportunity.
Nishikori's woes continued early in the third as he double-faulted on break point to fall behind 1-0. With the match seemingly in hand, Nadal finally lost focus and donated serve for the first time all day at 3-2. The world No. 1, however, quickly righted the ship and converted his fifth break chance in a marathon game at 3-3 with a huge forehand winner. Two games later, Nadal finished off the proceedings on serve with a smash overhead.
"For me it was a very good victory," said Nadal, who finished with 45 winners and 16 unforced errors. "For me, first matches are very difficult. After that I can start to play much better. But I tell you, I am very happy with how I played today. It was a very good match for me."
Nishikori, meanwhile, wrapped up his effort with four aces, eight double-faults, 33 winners, and 35 unforced errors. Robin Haase, who dismissed James Blake in straight sets, gets the next shot at Wimbledon's 2008 champion.
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fantastic Rafa!...So wonderful to see you back as Champ on grass. Vamos! for the next round.J Mac said of you today " a master at work " ..campion. :)
rafanna , 6/22/10 11:45 PM
This was an excellent first round match from Rafa! I love the confidence Rafa seems to have right now. His forehand and that cross court backhand were working nicely. His stats looked quite good for the match, nice percentage of first serves and second serves on, eight aces, I believe! The winners to UE's ratio was also great!
I don't know that Nishikori was going to give Rafa any real trouble, but it was just a joy to see Rafa moving beautifully on court and going for his shots. A very nice start!
Nativenewyorker , 6/22/10 11:55 PM
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Good solid performance.. lost it a bit in the third but no worries :)
And what a way to end it with a great smash
... in anything he must fine tune his backhand slice for the next match...
One down
Shireling , 6/22/10 10:57 PM