Nervous Nadal takes time to hit his stride
Nervous Nadal takes time to hit his stride
Rafael Nadal made a slow-burning start to his Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday, with the Spaniard caught cold by 80th-ranked
Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci before coming through 7-6 6-2 6-3.
The French Open winner, champion at Roland Garros for a
record seventh time this year, was 4-0 down in an hour-long first set
as his timing went awry in a battle of left-handers under cloudy skies
on Centre Court.
Any alarm was momentary with Nadal fighting back to 4-4 and winning the eventual tiebreak 7-0.
The press box benches that had filled halfway through
the set emptied just as swiftly knowing that normal service had resumed.
The world number two, perhaps sensing the crowd were
growing impatient for the Andy Murray show to follow immediately after,
took just half an hour more to go two sets up and wrapped up proceedings
in two hours 15 minutes.
"I think today I didn't play my best match," Nadal said
with some understatement. "I think especially at the first set I played
a little bit too nervous, a little bit not knowing exactly what to do.
"My movements were a little bit in a defensive way, not an aggressive way."
Serving to open the match, Bellucci fired two aces in
the first game and then broke Nadal with a lucky net cord that stretched
the Spaniard and left him defenceless against the stinging reply.
He held serve, with Nadal firing a return to the net at
40-30, and then chalked up another break when the Spaniard hit low
again.
That was about as good as it got for the Brazilian
against an opponent who has never lost a first round match in any grand
slam tournament.
With cries of 'Vamos Rafa' echoing around the court, Nadal powered back with a sense of momentum.
With the crowd in no doubt about the outcome, the mood lightened.
"Come on Rafa, don't give up," some humorous soul
shouted as the world number two was briefly pegged back by Bellucci to
30-30 at 5-3 in the third set.
"Come on, Andy," declared another more impatient voice to a ripple of appreciative laughter.
