Rafa Nadal overcomes with effort a combative Berankis

• Women's draw Convincing victory for Paula Badosa to reach the third round

• Men's draw Third round

Rafael Nadal

had to work hard to get through to the third round at Wimbledon and beat Lithuanian

(6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3) in four sets, who put his mobility to the test with a tireless dribbling from right to left.

Berankis was his talisman when he kicked off his 2022 winning streak against him in Melbourne, but at the All England Club he didn't make things easy for him.

His next rival will be the Italian

, number 27 in the ranking.

Nadal was slow to find his place in his second match on center court.

In front of him he had a consistent and experienced 32-year-old tennis player, who had his strategy very clear from the beginning: play pendulum from the back of the court, supported by his powerful cross

and accurately calibrating his climbs to the net.

Nadal looked uncomfortable from the start.

Perhaps because of the gusty air that crept onto the track, or perhaps because of that sun that glancing in mid-afternoon and that especially blinds those who serve with the left.

As it happened against

in his debut, and according to his own confession, Nadal lacked confidence in his direct hits, which went beyond the line with unusual frequency.

Berankis started with confidence in his game and great effectiveness, in contrast to the apparent bewilderment that Nadal transmitted in the first sets.

The two defended the service with zeal and until 5-4 in their favor in the first set, Nadal did not have two consecutive

occasions that he finally consummated.

The Lithuanian went on the counterattack at the start of the second set, managed to break the Majorcan's serve and went dangerously 3-1.

Until the second favorite finally woke up and turned the score around with three successive games that determined the halfway point of the match.

Berankis offered resistance again, Nadal had to work hard not to lose ground and finally finished off the second round (6-4) with an impeccable succession of crossed balls.

Loss in the third set

The third round started again with the wind in favor of the Lithuanian, who broke Nadal's serve from the start and tried to turn the match around.

The Spaniard tried to react with 2-0 against, but he did not quite take the measure of his annoying and hardened rival, who shone well above the number 106 that marks the ATP board.

Berankis did not let go of the helm of the third set, which ended up being awarded 6-4.

Nadal came out stomping in the fourth set and punished his rival from the start with his own medicine, until he was 3-0 up and had two

points in his favor .

And then it started to rain and the game had to be stopped.

With the roof closed, Berankis once again put pressure on the Spaniard, who had to hurry up on serve (with three almost consecutive

in the last game) to ensure passage to the third round.

It was precisely against Berankis, on Kings Day 2022, when Nadal began his great streak this year at the Melbourne tournament after a five-month absence from the courts.

He then won straight sets (6-2, 7-5) to enter the quarterfinals and ultimately win the tournament.

"In the beginning I made many mistakes, but it is important that I accept that things are not perfect in order to be able to improve," said Nadal on court after the victory.

After spending three years without playing in grass-court tournaments, Nadal placed special value on the fact that "every match is an opportunity to improve."

The Spaniard considered that he improved a lot in the fourth set.

"The serve (in this sleeve) worked much better for me, and I was able to play more aggressively with the forehand," said Nadal, who made up to 37 errors with that shot in the entire match.

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