Rafael Nadal strode into the second round at Wimbledon just three weeks after he was on crutches following make-or-break treatment on a chronic foot injury.
The Spaniard, 36, underwent radio-wave therapy on the nerve in his left foot earlier this month with his career potentially on the line after winning his 14th French Open.
The procedure seems to have been a success as Nadal was given a serious run-around by Argentinian debutant Francisco Cerundolo.
But, on his first appearance at the Championships since 2019, Nadal came through in four sets, 6-4 6-3 3-6 6-4 in three hours and 33 minutes.
RAFA RETURNS 🔥@RafaelNadal battles back and defeats Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at #Wimbledon 💪@Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/zCy29Qz7so
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 28, 2022
“After three years of not playing here I’m very happy to be back,” he said.
“The last three years I didn’t put a foot on a grass court, so it always takes a while in my first match. Every day is a test and this was an important test.
“At the beginning of the tournament and under the circumstances I arrived here, the victory is the most important thing.
“Everyone knows I had to do some things on my foot, but the most important thing is I am in Wimbledon 2022 and I won my first match!”
The Spaniard is now more than halfway towards a calendar year grand slam and would become the first man to achieve it since Rod Laver in 1969 if he can add Wimbledon and the US Open to his Australian and French Opens.
Playing 22-time major champion Nadal on Centre Court on your Wimbledon debut should be a daunting prospect, but Cerundolo did not show any hint of nerves.
The 23-year-old from Buenos Aires had chances to break in the first and second sets, but it was Nadal who struck at the vital moments; in the 10th game to take the opener and for 4-2 in the second.
At a break down in the third Cerundolo looked down and out but, to his credit, he retrieved it and then snatched another before serving out the set at the third attempt.
A forehand winner which clipped the baseline brought up another break in the fourth for the rookie.
But old warrior Nadal hauled himself level again at 4-4 and roared with delight when Cerundolo floated wide on match point to end a breathless contest.
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, a first-round loser last year, did not suffer the same fate after a 7-6 (1) 6-3 5-7 6-4 win over Alexander Ritschard.
Felix Auger-Aliassime, the eight seed from Canada, was knocked out in four sets by American dark horse Maxime Cressy.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here