Rafael Nadal reached the fourth round at Wimbledon for the 10th time on Saturday with a straight sets demolition of Italy's Lorenzo Sonego

02.07.2022 - 23:23 beinsports.com

Second seed Nadal, the champion in 2008 and 2010, swept to a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win.The 36-year-old had required back-to-back four-setters to make the third round and was expected to be tested by Sonego, who made the fourth round last year.However, Nadal didn not face a break point until he dropped serve in the eighth game of the third set, his focus possibly affected by a stoppage to close the Centre Court roof.He quickly broke back and sealed the victory.Nadal, however, appeared upset by the noise the Italian was making on court.He even summoned Sonego to the net to discuss his displeasure while the two then had another lengthy exchange as they shook hands."I didn't make it in a negative way.

I feel sorry if I bothered him but I did it in a right way," said Spaniard Nadal."I feel really bad now if I bothered him so I feel sorry for that.

That's it - I will talk to him after but this is not a problem."Nadal has already won the Australian Open and French Open in 2022 and is halfway to the first men's calendar Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969."This was probably my best match here without a doubt during the championships, against the most difficult player I faced," Nadal said."I have been able to raise my level, super happy for that."Nadal will next face Dutch 21st seed Botic van de Zandschulp for a place in the quarter-finals.The 26-year-old Van de Zandschulp made the last 16 at the All England Club for the first time with a 7-5, 2-6, 7-6 (9/7), 6-1 win over French veteran Richard Gasquet.Nadal comfortably defeated the Dutch player in straight sets on his way to a 14th French Open title last month.

Wimbledon on Rafael Nadal Richard Gasquet Lorenzo Sonego France Netherlands Spain Italy Australia

Rafael Nadal said on Thursday his decision to withdraw from Wimbledon, due to an abdominal injury, was “out of respect to myself”. “I made my decision because I believe that I can't win two matches under these circumstances. I can't serve,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said while announcing his pullout a day ahead of his much-anticipated semifinal clash with Australian Nick Kyrgios. “It's not only that I can't serve at the right speed, it's that I can't do the normal movement to serve.” “I have to say that, for respect to myself in some way, I don't want to go out there, not be competitive enough to play at the level that I need to play to achieve my goal, and with a big chance to make the things much worse, no? “As I always said, for me the most important thing is happiness more than any title, even if everybody knows how much effort I put to be here. But I can't risk that match and stay two, three months outside of the competition because that's going to be a tough thing for me.”

Wimbledon 2022: Rafael Nadal Unsure Whether He'll Be Fit For Semi-Final Against Nick Kyrgios

Rafael Nadal admits he does not know whether he will be fit to face Nick Kyrgios in Friday's Wimbledon semi-finals after an abdominal injury nearly forced him to quit against Taylor Fritz. The second seed had to take a medical time-out in the second set but battled through to win 3-6, 7-5, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10/4) in a gruelling contest lasting four hours and 21 minutes.