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After two challenging encounters at Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal played at a high level in a battle for the fourth round. Rafa toppled Lorenzo Sonego 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in two hours and three minutes, earning his 56th Wimbledon victory and staying unbeaten at Majors in 2022.
The Spaniard served well, dropping 18 points behind the initial shot and losing serve once in the encounter's closing stage. Sonego broke at love at 3-4 in the third set, and Nadal called him to the net to discuss the Italian's constant grunting.
As he later explained, Rafa admitted it was the wrong moment and place to do that, as he should have waited for a changeover or an umpire to react. Nadal broke again in the following game and sealed the deal on his serve at 5-4.
The Spaniard was off to a strong start, dropping two points behind the initial shot and keeping the pressure on the other side. Sonego could not follow the rival's pace, taking only ten points and experiencing two breaks. Lorenzo sprayed a backhand error in game four to fall 3-1 behind.
Rafa grabbed another break after the rival's double fault in game six to open a 5-1 gap. Nadal served for the opener in game seven and held at love to wrap it up in 27 minutes. With a boost on his side, Rafa kicked off the second set with an early break thanks to a forehand crosscourt winner.
Rafael Nadal spoke about Lorenzo Sonego's grunting.
The Spaniard held at 30 in game two and broke again a few minutes later to forge a 3-0 advantage. Nadal served well in games four, six and eight to control the result and fired a backhand crosscourt winner in game eight to forge a massive 6-1, 6-2 lead in 64 minutes.
Rafa forced the rival's mistake with a powerful backhand and grabbed a break at the start of the third set. Sonego raised his level behind the initial shot after that to remain within one break deficit. The organizers closed the roof due to the darkness after the sixth game, and Nadal suddenly got broken at love in game eight to bring the rival back to 4-4.
They exchanged a few words at the net, and Rafa grabbed the final two games to emerge at the top and find himself in the last 16. "I feel bad if it bothered him; I did not mean to be negative. I think I made a mistake, despite talking to him calmly.
I exposed the situation and would not have done that if we could go back. I already told the umpire and should have waited until the changeover to speak with Lorenzo. We are among colleagues who see each other every week. Some codes within a tennis court have to be respected.
I think I was wrong to call him to the network and tell him things. I should have done that during the changeover or waited for the referee to tell him," Nadal explained.