Nadal and Federer into second round
Originally published on 30/06/15
But while Federer did not face a single break point and needed just 67 minutes to complete a routine 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur on Centre Court, Nadal needed almost twice as long to defeat Thomaz Bellucci.
In a rematch of their first-round encounter at the All England Club in 2012, Nadal beat the Brazilian 6-4 6-2 6-4 in two hours and 11 minutes. After beating Bellucci three years ago Nadal went on to suffer a shock second-round defeat to Lukas Rosol and he will hope to avoid a similar fate against Dustin Brown on Thursday.
The pair have met just once, when Brown produced perhaps the finest performance of his career to beat Nadal on grass in the second round at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle last year.
“He beat me last year at Halle, [but] it is a little bit different, the surface and everything,” said Nadal. “Is a dangerous match. He's a tough player, he won today against good opponent Lu [Yen-Hsun]. “He will come with good confidence. I’m going to try to be ready for it.”
Meanwhile Federer, playing in a record 63rd consecutive major, has not dropped a set in the first round of a Grand Slam since he was taken to five sets by Alejandro Falla at Wimbledon in 2010.
“You try not to have any hiccups early on, but if they do happen, it’s important to find a way to win,” said Federer, who will face American Sam Querrey in the second round.
“Back in the day maybe I would not be as ruthless as today, but now it’s trying to focus on what I need to do. The score, it is what it is. For me, it’s about playing the tournament, the ball that’s coming from my opponent.”
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