London: Rafael Nadal overcame an early blip to defeat Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin and reach the Wimbledon last 16, shining beneath the Centre Court roof on Saturday as heavy rain swept away the action outside.
The 2008 and 2010 champion dropped the opening set for the third time in three matches before turning things around in a 6-7 (4/7), 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 victory.
The second seeded Spaniard blitzed world no. 63 Kukushkin, who had never won a match at Wimbledon before this year and had only ever beaten one top 10 player.
Nadal, the 28-year-old winner of 14 Grand Slam titles, won 17 of the last 19 games and goes on to face either Australia’s rising star Nick Kyrgios or Jiri Vesely of the Czech Republic for a place in the quarter-finals.
They had played just 15 minutes of their third-round match out on Court 17 before rain halted all action on the uncovered courts and forced All England Club organisers to cancel 24 doubles and junior matches by mid-afternoon.Nadal had dropped the first set to Martin Klizan and Lukas Rosol in his first two rounds and Kukushkin, playing in his 21st tournament of the year, employed the same free-swinging tactics to bludgeon his way through the opener.
But in front of a Royal Box containing such sporting glitterati as retired Indian cricket master Sachin Tendulkar, ex-England football captain David Beckham and former Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins, Nadal regained his composure to race away with the win.
Murray races past Agut
Earlier on Friday, defending champion Andy Murray entered the last 16 with another show of force, outclassing Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.The home favourite, attempting to defend the title he won last year to become the first Briton to win the men’s singles for 77 years, turned the late evening Centre Court duel into a one-sided romp.
Spinal surgery and his inability to reach a final since that surreal day last July meant there had been question marks over his ability to win back-to-back titles at the All England Club.
The third seed proved that he was up to the task of carrying the nation’s hopes once more.“I’d say I’m happy with where my body’s at right now. Physically I feel good. My back feels much better than it did at this stage last year, so that’s a big positive for me,” said Murray, who had back surgery last September.
No. 6 Tomas Berdych, runner-up at Wimbledon four years ago, became the highest-seeded man to go out so far when he fell to no. 26 Marin Cilic 7-6 (5) 6-4, 7-6 (6) in match that finished in near darkness at 9:36 p.m. Berdych, who had called for play to be suspended because of the fading light, hit a forehand long on the second match point. Cilic finished with 20 aces.
