17-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal made a blistering start to his Wimbledon campaign as he coasted to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 win over Dudi Sela of Israel on Tuesday. The second seed made a smooth and swift transition from the red dirt to grass as he never looked to be any sort of discomfort while moving back and forth on the hallowed turf of the Centre Court.
Indeed Nadal was in imperious form throughout his contest against the man from Tel Aviv, dismissing his adversary’s challenge in merely an hour and 50 minutes before booking his place in the round of 64 of The Championships.
Both men started the match quite confidently as the two continued to hold on to their respective serves with the utmost ease until the seventh game. However, the first sign of trouble in Sela’s game became visible in the eighth game when Nadal hit a marvelous cross-court forehand winner to bring up three break points. The Spaniard eventually secured the break with the help of a double fault from Sela before winning the first set 6-3 in 29 minutes.
Unlike set No. 1 Sela was looking uncomfortable right from the beginning in the second set. The Israeli was under tremendous pressure as the World No. 1 were taking advantage of Sela’s weak second serves, resulting in service breaks in favor of the Majorcan in the first and the ninth game. Nadal looked absolutely great on the lawn as he punished his opponent at every possible opportunity. Almost each of Nadal’s return was coming back with interest, which was undoubtedly the prime reason behind his 6-3 triumph in the 2nd set.
It was as easy as you like for the former two-time champion as Nadal continued his dominance in the third set. Even though he was broken in the 1st game, Rafa quickly broke right back and then got the crucial break of serve in the 4th game to seize an early 3-1 lead. Nadal was able to sustain his good form in the next few games as well as his serve remained strong and his forehand appeared mighty. In the end, he went on to close out the match and the set 6-2.
