Rafael Nadal has set up a second round clash with Nick Kyrgios after a 6-3 6-1 6-3 win over Yuichi Sugita.
The third seed struggled early on in the first set but then dominated the Japanese qualifier by losing only seven games.
Now Nadal faces a tricky second round clash against Nick Kyrgios, who he lost to in the fourth round a few years ago.
The Australian beat Jordan Thompson in an entertaining five set battle on Court three earlier on in the day.
It was a tentative start from the Spaniard, who hadn’t played a grass court ATP tournament before Wimbledon and showed his rust early.
After losing the first two points, Sugita produced some sublime groundstrokes to catch Nadal off guard as he won the next 11 points for a break lead.
Having nearly conceded the double break lead, Nadal knew he had to improve his level and slowly managed to find his range.
Although it was a phenomenal start from the Japanese qualifier, he couldn’t maintain his lead as Nadal finally grinded the break back.
There was less panic and more ferocity about the former champion’s play now as he started to hammer his shots all around the court.
Some intelligent play saw Nadal edge a tight first set as he came to the net and used some variety to catch Sugita off guard.
A tough break followed by a hold of serve saw the first set go to the world number two in 45 minutes.
Once the Spaniard had a grip of the match, he never really let it slip as the second set saw him hit with confidence and power as he bullied Sugita around the court.
Some vintage Nadal play saw him prove unstoppable in the second set as the Japanese player failed to threaten on serve or return.
A third break of serve sealed a two sets to love lead and total control of the match.
Although Sugita showed more bravery with his overall play in the third set, there was no change of strategy as without any major weapons, he was barely going to threaten.
An eventual and inevitable break in the eighth saw the final nail in Sugita’s coffin as Nadal progressed into the second round.
Straight sets.
Straight into the second round. @RafaelNadal defeats Yuichi Sugita 6-3, 6-1, 6-3Up next: @NickKyrgios…#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/n5gF8oMqvT
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2019
After the match, Nadal seemed delighted with his victory in his first ATP grass match of the season, “I’m happy for the victory. This is the main thing,” Nadal said to the BBC.
“My first official match on grass in a year so it’s always difficult. At the beginning it was tough. There are lot of things to improve. I have one more day to keep practising.”
Next up for Nadal is a enthralling match with Nick Kyrgios, who he lost to in 2014 in the fourth round.
