The legendary Spaniard Rafael Nadal sailed through to the Round of 16 after defeating Lorenzo Sonego convincingly in a third-round match of the Wimbledon 2022 Grand Slam.
Rafael Nadal returned to Wimbledon after three years of absence. The former world No.1 recently played his first match on a grass court after three years during an exhibition match at Hurlingham. He defeated three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3. Nadal needed four sets to defeat Francisco Cerundolo and Ricardas Berankis in his first two matches at Wimbledon 2022.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion looked far from his best in those two matches but against Lorenzo, in round three, the veteran came into his own. He played flawlessly in the first two and a half sets. The match was paused for a while during the third set because the roof of the stadium was being closed. Nadal lost a bit of rhythm after the brief stoppage as Lorenzo broke the 2-time Wimbledon champion’s serve for the first time in the match.
The Italian was getting back into the match, winning some fine points. On a couple of occasions, Lorenzo let out huge roars after winning points. Nadal took offense to that and called his opponent up to the net and had a word. It seemed as if Lorenzo lost his concentration from that point onwards. Nadal won the following two games and progressed to the Round of 16.
“I have to say that I was wrong….” – Rafael Nadal apologized to Lorenzo Sonego after the match
The Spaniard admitted his mistake and apologized to Lorenzo Sonego after the match during an on-court interview.
“I have to say that I was wrong. I should not call him on the net. So apologize for that. My mistake in that. No problem. I recognize that.
“It’s something that I spoke with him in the locker room and聽it stays there. Only thing I can say is I saw him personally. My intention was never to bother him at all. Just to tell one thing that was bothering me that he was doing in that moment, but that’s it. We had some issues there but that’s it.”
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