Rafael Nadal once again looked unconvincing on grass but managed to reach the third round of Wimbledon where he was joined by other prominent names of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Nick Kyrgios, and Taylor Fritz.
On the other end, Denis Shapovalov and Diego Schwartzman were the notable names bounced from the tournament in the second round.
The second-seeded Nadal again needed four sets to overcome Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-3 for his 307th Grand Slam match win which put him one ahead of Martina Navratilova and fourth on the all-time list.
Nadal though far from his best, never looked in serious danger of having his bid for the calendar-year Slam wrecked by the world number 106 despite finishing with more unforced errors than winners (39-35).
Australian Nick Kyrgios had one of those days where he appears invincible, as he blasted past Serbia’s Filip Krajinovic 6-2 6-3 6-1 in 85 minutes to charge into the third round of Wimbledon without breaking a sweat.
Kyrgios gave up just nine points on serve while hitting 50 winners in stark contrast to his five-set struggle to overcome British wild card, Paul Jubb, in the first round.
The Aussie, courtesy of his win, set up a mouth-watering clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas in the next round.
Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas is slowly finding his feet on the grass and romped into the third round at Wimbledon with a 6-2 6-3 7-5 victory over Jordan Thompson.
Kyrgios beat Tsitsipas the last time they met in the second round at Halle earlier this month.
Taylor Fritz, meanwhile, continued to shine on the brightest stage with a 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 win over Britain’s Alastair Gray.
