NADAL AVENGES LOSS TO ROSOL, JOINS FEDERER IN WIMBLEDON THIRD ROUND BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 26th June 2014

NADAL AVENGES LOSS TO ROSOL, JOINS FEDERER IN WIMBLEDON THIRD ROUND BY RICKY DIMON

epa04283100 Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates his win over Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic in their second round match during the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 26 June 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

The two biggest names in tennis are still in the Wimbledon draw despite each having tough second-round matchups on Thursday. Rafael Nadal exacted revenge for a 2012 defeat at the All-England Club by overcoming Lukas Rosol in four sets. Roger Federer had less trouble with Gilles Muller, who went down to the 17-time Grand Slam champion in straights.

Nadal trailed by a set and a break as Rosol invoked memories of his five-set stunner of the Spaniard two years ago. After the world No. 1 broke back for 4-4 and took the ensuing tiebreaker after saving one set point, it was mostly one-way traffic en route to a 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 victory.

Rafael Nadal

“Maybe if I lost that set point in the second set, if that forehand down the line went out, maybe I would be here with a loss,” Nadal said. “But that’s the sport. That forehand was a perfect forehand for that moment. Every match is so difficult here; especially when you play against players that really decide to play every shot full power. It is a very important victory for me. I finished the match playing at a very high level.”

“It was good game from both of us,” Rosol reflected. “The first set I played really good; the second set was nothing bad from my side. Every point was tough for both of us. I hit a double-fault on the last point in the second set. (It) was pretty windy from the back. But still, Rafa was playing really well. He didn’t give me chance (in the) third (and) fourth sets.”

Lukas Rosol

Muller had no chances against Federer the entire way–at least not in the break-point department. Federer lost a mere nine points in 15 service games and did not face a single break point as he prevailed 6-3, 7-5, 6-3.

Next up for the No. 4 seed is either Marcel Granollers or Santiago Giraldo. Those two players were locked in a fifth set when play was suspended for the day on the outer courts. Nadal, meanwhile, will go up against Mikhail Kukushkin on Saturday.

Topics: Gilles Muller, Lukas Rosol, Marcel Granollers, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Santiago Giraldo, Tennis, Tennis News, Wimbledon

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10sBalls_com says:

June 26, 2014 at 3:12 pm

NADAL AVENGES LOSS TO ROSOL, JOINS FEDERER IN WIMBLEDON THIRD ROUND BY RICKY DIMON (@RD_Tennistalk) – http://t.co/yxupj393kZ @RafaelNadal