NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 31: Rafael Nadal of Spain returns a shot to Andreas Seppi of Italy during his second round Men's Singles match on Day Three of the 2016 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on August 31, 2016 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal, the world’s top-ranked player, defeated Israel’s Dudi Sela at Wimbledon on Tuesday to advance to the tournament’s second round.
Nadal — who is the No. 2 seed in London this year behind Roger Federer — beat Sela, the World No. 127, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in his first match since winning the French Open in June.
The 32-year-old Spaniard will next play Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin or Canadian Vasil Pospisil.
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According to BBC Sport, Nadal had not prepared for Wimbledon this year by playing on grass for any warm-up games.
Nadal finished with three aces against Sela’s five, while each player committed four double faults. However, Nadal won six break points versus only one for the Israeli.
“It doesn’t matter how you win or get there, but for the body, it’s better in straight sets,” said the Spaniard, according to The Telegraph.
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Federer, an eight-time Wimbledon champion, also reached the second round by defeating Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in the opening stage. Federer will next face Slovak Lukas Lacko.
On the women’s side, 25th-seeded Serena Williams beat the Netherlands’ Arantxa Rus 7-5, 6-3 in her opening match to advance to round 2, where she will play 23-year-old Bulgarian Viktoriya Tomova.
Fans have been wondering if Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, will make an appearance at Wimbledon. Seven-time winner Williams is reportedly close friends with the new member of the British royal family. Williams, 36, attended fellow American Markle’s wedding to Prince Harry in May. People magazine reported that over the weekend, Markle and Williams went on a “double date” with their husbands at a polo game in Ascot, England.
Williams stressed in her press conference that she wants to ensure she gets to spend as much time as possible with her infant daughter.
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