2022 Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal claims first-round win over Francisco Cerundolo
Second seed Rafael Nadal overcame Francisco Cerundolo in the first round at 2022 Wimbledon. The 22-time Grand Slam champion beat the Argentine 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 after over three hours. Nadal entered the grass-court major after having won four tour-level titles (2022). The Spaniard, who is making his 15th appearance at Wimbledon, eyes his third title in the tournament. Here are the key stats.
Nadal won a total of 132 points and 23 winners in the match. He smashed five aces, while Cerundolo served two. Nadal won 70% points (62/88) on the first serve and 69% points (88/127) on the second. The Spaniard won 38% (5/13) of the break points. Nadal recoded three double faults, while the Argentine registered 44 unforced errors.
Up and running at #Wimbledon 2022 🇪🇸@RafaelNadal overcomes a stern Centre Court test from Francisco Cerundolo#CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/qt6b7t9bCF
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 28, 2022
By winning the 2022 French Open, Nadal extended his Grand Slams tally to 22. The Spaniard has won two of those titles at Wimbledon (2008 and 2010). He has the required form to win his third Wimbledon honor this time. With a win over Cerundolo, Nadal has extended his win-loss record in the grass-court tournament to 54-12.
In 2010, Nadal overcame Tomas Berdych to clinch his second Wimbledon title. He became the first Big Three player to achieve the Channel Slam (French Open-Wimbledon double) twice. Notably, Borg has won Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same year thrice (1978-80). If Nadal wins Wimbledon this time, he will become the first man since Borg to win the Channel Slam on three occasions.
Nadal has been on a roll in 2022, having won the third-most matches (31-3) after Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard has already won the Australian Open and the French Open. Nadal also won in Acapulco and Melbourne.
