His biggest win there was against Gael Monfils who you would expect Nadal to beat nearly every time. The Spaniard is seeded No. 10, his lowest in a decade due to his poor run of form this season. Previous year I was better, after 2012 and 2013 was when I could not play well here. “It was hard to detect any emotions”.
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“I’m number 10 because I deserve to be”, he said. “You ain’t goin” nowhere.’.
Nadal initially struggled to calibrate his forehand and was wayward with his serving but he eventually settled and began smashing Bellucci into submission with his heavyweight backhand. You come in with many more doubts into the tournament. Nadal will likely hold the advantage this time around but all eyes will be on him to see if he will be ready for the fortnight ahead.
I do not think, however, that Nadal is quite as vulnerable as a cursory run-down of the situation would suggest. “I need to do it my way”.
Bollettieri suggests that Nadal’s of tennis that he has played since he was 16 has taken its toll – Nadal is a tennis version of a punch-drunk boxer. I’m just looking forward to Wimbledon and just seeing how it goes.
Tommy Robredo and Jack Sock opened proceedings on the immaculate grass of the 1900-seater Centre Court, while the final match of a wonderful day for spectators featured two sets of brothers with the all-conquering Bryan Brothers taking on Zverev and his older brother Mischa (27) in a special match of high-quality doubles. He talked about the feeling he had when playing on clay as opposed to playing on grass. Nobody picked those matches as potential upsets and yet each time Nadal, Wimbledon champion in 2008 and 2010 and forever part of The Championships’ iconography due to the part he played in what has been called Wimbledon’s greatest ever final, exited the tournament abruptly without even making it past ‘Manic Monday’.
“Let’s say it is less unsafe and slippery and all these kind of things that can make the players fall”.
“On grass is a different story”.
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“It was great to win a title on grass after five years without, it was a positive feeling”, he added. “You can’t have two mistakes in a row with your serve because that means you’ve nearly lost the set”.
