Nadal gets last laugh in clash with Kyrgios

LONDON – Rafael Nadal may not end up winning a  third Wimbledon singles title but he will take joy from having beaten his ‘bete  noire’ Nick Kyrgios in an engrossing but bad-tempered grudge match on Thursday.

The 33-year-old Spaniard came through in four sets 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6  (7/3) which saw fiery but talented Australian Kyrgios receive a warning for  unsportsmanlike behaviour after a running argument with the umpire while twice  serving under-arm.

Nadal’s pleasure was evident when he sealed the match against a man he had  accused of lacking respect for the sport as he fist-pumped and jumped in the  air yelling to his camp seated on Centre Court.

“I was aware of everything,” said Nadal, who was winning his 50th match at  Wimbledon.

“I was just next to him so I don’t want to comment on this  but potentially  he is a Grand Slam winner.”

Earlier, his great rival, eight-time champion Roger Federer had no such  problems as he eased into the third round, beating British wild card Jay Clarke  6-1, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 to equal American legend Jimmy Connors’s record of 17  appearances in the last 32.

On the women’s side, there will be a new name adorning the trophy as  defending champion Angelique Kerber went out in three sets to lucky loser  Lauren Davis 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.

Federer said his game had not been perfect but Clarke had helped his cause.

“I struggled to take care of business a bit from the baseline,” said  37-year-old Federer who has now reached the third round at the Slams for the  70th time.

Federer and Nadal’s half of the draw lost two of the potentially more  awkward customers in big serving duo John Isner and Marin Cilic.

Ninth-seeded Isner, who played in the epic semifinal last year with Kevin  Anderson which lasted over six hours, fell in five sets to unseeded Kazakh  Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in just over three hours of  play.

Cilic, the 13th seed and finalist in 2017, lost in straight sets to  Portugal’s Joao Sousa, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. 

Kerber looked in control after the first set but once she went 3-2 down in  the second Davis – ranked outside the top 250 earlier this year – gained in  confidence.

“Its been a tough journey and a process of learning and  growing as a  player and person,” said Davis.

“The drop in ranking has made this win even more fulfilling.”    

There was a scare for seven-time champion Serena Williams, who dropped the  first set against 18-year-old Slovenian qualifier Kaja Juvan before prevailing  2-6, 6-2, 6-4.

“It brings the best out of me the pressure,” said 37-year-old Williams.

“I play best when I am down sometimes. I am a fighter, I never give up.”