LONDON – For a set and a half, Rafael Nadal looked in danger of tumbling out in the first round of Wimbledon for the second year in a row. The left-hander dominating play on Centre Court was not the 14-time Grand Slam champion, it was 51st-ranked Martin Klizan of Slovakia.
But the top-ranked Nadal dug deep, scrambled for gets all over the court, slipped and fell and got up and still hit winners, pulling out a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory – the 700th tour-level match win of his career.
“That means that I had a very long and successful career, so I’m happy for that,” Nadal said. “But the most important thing for me today more than 700 victories is a victory here in the first round.”
Next up for the two-time Wimbledon champion: Lukas Rosol, the hard-hitting Czech player who eliminated him in the same round two years ago.
“He’s a very dangerous player, very strong, very powerful shots from the baseline,” Nadal said.
While Nadal had to battle Tuesday, seven-time champion Roger Federer strolled to a 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Paolo Lorenzi, an Italian with a career 0-13 record in Grand Slam matches.
In women’s play, top-seeded and five-time champion Serena Williams beat 113th-ranked Anna Tatishvili 6-1, 6-2 to begin her 15th appearance at the All England Club. Williams served 16 aces and had 31 winners to overwhelm the 24-year-old American.
Among other straight-set winners on a mostly sunny Day 2 at the All England Club were Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka, French Open winner Maria Sharapova and Roland Garros runner-up Simona Halep.
Tuesday’s victory was Nadal’s first win on grass in two years. He was upset by Steve Darcis in the first round here last year and lost to 85th-ranked Dustin Brown in a Wimbledon tuneup in Halle, Germany, two weeks ago.
Klizan, who has yet to reach the second round at Wimbledon, went toe to toe with Nadal from the baseline with his big-swinging forehand. He nearly matched Nadal for winners (36-35 for the Spaniard) and served 11 aces, two more than Nadal.
But Nadal converted eight of 15 break points, while Klizan was only three for 13.
After Klizan took the first set, he had a great chance to go up an early break at 1-1 in the second. But Nadal saved three break points, including the third with an ace, and held to begin a run where he won eight of 10 games. He broke for the first time to go up 4-2 in the second set.
Nadal broke to open the third set, a game which featured a spectacular 14-stroke rally. Nadal slipped and fell while chasing a shot in his backhand corner, scrambled back to his feet and sprinted from side to side before winning the point with a cross-court backhand.
Nadal was at his acrobatic best again in the third game of the fourth set, tumbling to the grass while hitting a forehand at the baseline, rolling over, getting up and hitting a backhand topspin lob for a winner.
Federer lost here in the second round last year to No. 116 Sergiy Stakhovsky, but was never in danger against the 83rd-ranked Lorenzi.
Federer and Lorenzi are both 32, but that’s where the similarities end. For the Italian, the loss extended his career Grand Slam record to 0-13. Only one player, Juan-Antonio Marin of Costa Rica, has a worse record, 0-17.
“I didn’t know about his record to be honest,” Federer said, adding that he never felt sorry for his opponent. “I’m putting in my fair share of hard work as well and you feel like you deserve it,” he said.
In another mismatch on Court 1, Sharapova sailed to a 6-1, 6-0 win over British wild-card entry Samantha Murray.
The fifth-seeded Sharapova, who lost here in the second round last year to Portuguese qualifier Michelle Larcher de Brito, is bidding for her second Wimbledon title – a decade after winning her first as a 17-year-old.
The third-seeded Halep beat Teliana Pereira 6-2, 6-2 in the day’s last match on Centre Court.
No. 13 Eugenie Bouchard, a semifinalist in the last two Grand Slams, also advanced.
Wawrinka served 18 aces and cruised to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 win over Joao Sousa of Portugal.
Other men’s winners included No. 8 Milos Raonic, No. 9 John Isner, No. 15 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, No. 15 Jerzy Janowicz and 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt. – Nampa-AP
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