“This has probably been my best match without a doubt here at the Championships” - Rafael Nadal after his Wimbledon 3R defeat of Lorenzo Sonego

Rafael Nadal booked his place in the fourth round of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships on Saturday evening with a straight-sets defeat of Lorenzo Sonego. The Spaniard needed a little more than two hours to beat the Italian 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 on Center Court.

In their first-ever meeting, Nadal started strong and hit 14 winners across the first two sets to take full control of the contest. He continued to dictate in the third set until fading light forced the match to be paused at 4-2.

With the roof closed and under lights, Sonego showed signs of a fight by breaking to level at 4-4. However, Nadal broke back immediately and then held on to advance to the fourth round at SW19 for the 10th time in his career.

Speaking after the win in his on-court interview, Nadal said that it was his best game at Wimbledon this year.

“This has probably been my best match without a doubt here at the Championships, against probably the most difficult player I faced. I have been able to raise my level a lot. I am super happy about that and I wish Lorenzo all the very best for the rest of the season. I think he is a great player, he made the fourth round last year and then this year again. I think he has a great future here,” Rafael Nadal said.

While injuries are a part and parcel of the sport, the topic has been a constant presence around Nadal this year owing to his chronic foot injury. Asked for an update on his physical fitness, the Mallorcan said that he was just happy to still be able to compete at the age of 36.

“You never know [how the body is doing], it's always a tricky thing. I went through some tough injuries during my tennis career, but in some way, I feel very lucky that I am still able to play at my age. I never thought that this will be happening 10 years ago. So I just feel very, very lucky,” Nadal said.

The win means Nadal has now reached the last 16 in each of the last 20 Grand Slams he has played in. The 36-year-old will next face Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in a rematch of their recent Roland Garros clash.

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“This is not the problem at all, I feel very sorry if I bothered him” - Rafael Nadal

The smooth-sailing match was interrupted in the third set, with Rafael Nadal leading 4-2, to have the Center Court’s roof closed and get the lights switched on. This came minutes after Lorenzo Sonego made it a point to complain to the officials about low visibility.

The break in play left Nadal a little furious and the momentum shifted when the contest resumed, as Sonego broke him to love and then consolidated to make it 4-4. Nadal then complained that the Italian made a noise before hitting his shot, with the players having a word with each other at the net.

Though the words continued to flow after the match, Nadal insisted that he didn’t mean to disrespect or negatively affect Sonego.

“Sorry, [the words between Sonego and I were] not spicy at all. From the bottom of my heart, I didn't mean it in a negative way. I feel very sorry if I bothered him. I just wanted to tell him something but I thought I did it in a nice way. Now I feel really bad if I bothered him. I feel very sorry for that. I was talking now to him and I gonna talk to him later, but this is not the problem [between us] at all,” Rafael Nadal insisted.