#2 ranked Rafael Nadal showed some signs of difficulty early in his second-round match at Wimbledon against Robin Haase, ranked 151. The Dutchman forced Nadal into five sets with a powerful serve, hitting 28 aces.
After the mkatch, Nadal said on the BBC website, “I knew Robin would be very dangerous.
I played a very good match. I had three bad points in the first set, but playing him is always a challenge.
On a fast surface like grass all the matches are close. I’m very happy to win because I was very close to losing.”
Until Haase apparently irritated an old injury in the fourth set, it seemed Nadal might be facing elimination. However, Haase collapsed in the fourth set, getting only 25 percent of his first serves in, while Nadal played with precision (only 12 unforced errors in the match.)
Down two matches to one, Nadal blasted through the fourth set in only 22 minutes.
Haase came back to win three games in the final set. In the third game, Haase had Nadal on the run, but Nadal was up to it, finally winning the game with a spinning lob while running away from the net. Hasse leapt high to get a racquet on it but couldn’t make the return.
Haase found his serve in the fifth game, winning in only 64 seconds, but Nadal was winning every point in his service games. Haase didn’t manage a point in the final game, as Nadal took the win to advance to the third round.
After the mkatch, Nadal said on the BBC website, “I knew Robin would be very dangerous.
I played a very good match. I had three bad points in the first set, but playing him is always a challenge.
On a fast surface like grass all the matches are close. I’m very happy to win because I was very close to losing.”
Until Haase apparently irritated an old injury in the fourth set, it seemed Nadal might be facing elimination. However, Haase collapsed in the fourth set, getting only 25 percent of his first serves in, while Nadal played with precision (only 12 unforced errors in the match.)
Down two matches to one, Nadal blasted through the fourth set in only 22 minutes.
Haase came back to win three games in the final set. In the third game, Haase had Nadal on the run, but Nadal was up to it, finally winning the game with a spinning lob while running away from the net. Hasse leapt high to get a racquet on it but couldn’t make the return.
Haase found his serve in the fifth game, winning in only 64 seconds, but Nadal was winning every point in his service games. Haase didn’t manage a point in the final game, as Nadal took the win to advance to the third round.
