World No.1 avoids another shock
If there is one thing stands out more than Rafael Nadal’s astonishing ability to achieve Grand Slam records, it’s his famously fastidious nature. From the exact length of his socks, to the perfect position of his water bottles, in each of his 17 history-making major victories the Spaniard has showcased routines as precise as his tennis.
So when the world No.1 considers the one curious anomaly that exists in his recent tennis history, you can be certain that such a perfectionist as Nadal will work hard to rectify it. Since the most recent of his five All England Club finals appearances in 2011, the two-time champion is yet to reach a quarter-final.
More worrying still is that four of the five men who stopped him were ranked world No.100 or lower. He exited to world No. 100 Lukas Rosol in 2012, No.135 Steve Darcis in 2013, No.144 Nick Kyrgios in 2014 and No.102 Dustin Brown two years ago.
Dudi Sela, then, was not an opponent to be underestimated. A veteran of the men’s game, the 33-year-old Israeli has recently slipped to world No.127 but previously sat inside the world’s top 30.
That Sela could potentially trouble the No.2 seed in the first round was clear in some tense opening games of their encounter. But the first of three aces from Nadal in the fifth game appeared to settle any nerves and soon came the reminder that while Sela is yet to claim a title on the ATP Tour, the Spaniard is among the most prolific champions in tennis history. After 110 minutes, he emerged the 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 winner.
Claiming the first of his eight service breaks against Sela in the eighth game of the first set, Nadal quickly seized control. Entertaining the Centre Court crowd with both power and finesse – never better than when Nadal pirouetted mid-court for an overhead winner in the seventh game of the second set - the Spaniard was simply more commanding. He finished with 31 winners to Sela’s 18 and six fewer unforced errors.
While it wasn’t quite the perfect match for Nadal, who had to recover from a service break in the opening game of the third set, it was a striking reminder of his ability to achieve more history at Wimbledon. From that one glitch, he was able to withstand any challenge from the plucky but outplayed Sela.
Having bypassed any grass court events this summer, Nadal was encouraged by the transition since victory at the French Open. “(There) is still room to improve but after a while without playing on grass it’s important to have a straight (sets) victory,” he said.
“Good start, of course," he said. "Good result. I did some things very well, and other things I have room to improve. But you are not at all times happy, of course? It's a good start for me, that's it. It’s the first round and it’s not easy. Never. Especially here on grass without having played on grass."
After a 2017 campaign that ended in the fourth round with a 15-13 fifth set loss to Gilles Muller, Nadal now continues his 13th campaign at Wimbledon with the hope of adding another Grand Slam to the record-breaking 11th Roland-Garros title seized just several weeks ago. Doing so would equal Bjorn Borg’s all-time record of three back-to-back titles in Paris and London.
