{"id":79383,"date":"2022-07-01T15:23:21","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T15:23:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=79383"},"modified":"2022-07-01T15:23:21","modified_gmt":"2022-07-01T15:23:21","slug":"nadal-and-swiatek-survive-wobbles-to-progress-at-wimbledon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.bornomalanews.com\/?p=79383","title":{"rendered":"Nadal and Swiatek survive wobbles to progress at Wimbledon"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Sports Desk:<\/strong> Rafael Nadal was again forced to dig deep to reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday as women's top seed Iga Swiatek survived a stumble to win her 37th match on the spin.<\/p>\n

The Spanish second seed, chasing a calendar Grand Slam, recovered from losing the third set for the second straight match to beat Lithuanian journeyman Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.<\/p>\n

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Earlier, Spanish 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut became the third potential dangerman in Nadal's half of the draw to pull out with coronavirus, following the withdrawals of 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini and 2017 finalist Marin Cilic.<\/p>\n

Nadal has also benefited from a shock first-round exit for Canada's sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who took him to five sets at the French Open.<\/p>\n

Nadal looked comfortable in the first two sets against Berankis but was broken in his first service game of the third set and could not claw his way back.<\/p>\n

But the Spaniard regrouped and raced into a 3-0 lead in the fourth set, sealing the match with an ace after it resumed under the roof following a sharp rain shower.<\/p>\n

The 22-time Grand Slam champion, who has not played at Wimbledon since reaching the 2019 semi-finals, admitted he needed to step up his game as he prepares to face Italy's Lorenzo Sonego.<\/p>\n

“I didn't play much on grass in three years,” he said. “It gives me the chance to keep going, so very happy for that.<\/p>\n

“I need to improve. The fourth set was much better…. I have to keep working, be humble, even when things are not going well.”<\/p>\n

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Australian maverick Nick Kyrgios remain two of Nadal's biggest challenges and they will meet in a mouthwatering contest on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Kyrgios was on his best behaviour on court as he steamrollered Serbian 26th seed Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 in just 85 minutes.<\/p>\n

The 27-year-old, who made the quarter-finals on debut at the All England Club in 2014, did not face a single break point.<\/p>\n

“I just wanted to remind everyone that I am pretty good,” he said. “I was nowhere near my best in the first round but today I was in my zone.”<\/p>\n

Kyrgios's five-set opening win over Paul Jubb of Britain was marred by his admission that he spat in the direction of fans, accusing them of being disrespectful.<\/p>\n

“There was just nothing the media possibly could tell me I did wrong today,” he said. “I just know that you can't possibly ask me anything and stir anything up.”<\/p>\n

Late Thursday, Kyrgios was fined $10,000 for Tuesday's incidents.<\/p>\n

Fourth seed Tsitsipas had few problems in defeating Australia's Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.<\/p>\n

“I feel like everyone here knows who Nick is,” said the Greek player.<\/p>\n

“We have had many great matches against each other. I respect him for his game and the way he fights when he wants to.”<\/p>\n

– Swiatek streak –<\/p>\n

Poland's Swiatek needed just over two hours to see off Dutch lucky loser Lesley Pattinama Kerkhove 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.<\/p>\n

Swiatek was in early trouble before winning four games in a row to take the first set but went down a break in the second and could not recover.<\/p>\n

In the end, though, Swiatek took charge in the decider, breaking for a 3-1 lead and closing out the match.<\/p>\n

She surpasses Monica Seles' 36-match winning streak from 1990 and matches Martina Hingis's 37-match winning run from the beginning of the 1997 season.<\/p>\n

“I would say the grass is pretty tricky for me, I'm not going to lie,” said Swiatek, who faces France's Alize Cornet next.<\/p>\n

“I guess you can see that I'm not playing maybe as efficiently as on other surfaces.<\/p>\n

“Basically my confidence is getting better overall. But this tournament is tricky and I'm still feeling out how to play the best game here.”<\/p>\n

British wildcard Katie Boulter shocked 2021 finalist Karolina Pliskova 3-6, 7-6 (7\/4), 6-4 before dedicating her win to her late grandmother, who died this week.<\/p>\n

Fourth seed Paula Badosa set up a clash against two-time champion Petra Kvitova after both had straightforward wins.<\/p>\n

Coco Gauff eased past Romania's Mihaela Buzarnescu 6-2, 6-3 — hammering the fastest serve of the women's tournament, a screamer clocked at 122 miles (192 kilometres) per hour — and will next meet fellow American Amanda Anisimova.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sports Desk: Rafael Nadal was again forced to dig deep to reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday as women’s top seed Iga Swiatek survived a stumble to win her 37th match on the spin. The Spanish second seed, chasing a calendar Grand Slam, recovered from losing the third set for the second straight match […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":79384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n