Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, ranked number two in the world, defeated American Donald Young by a comfortable 6-4, 6-2 and 7-5, thus advancing to the third round of Wimbledon at the All England Club.
Nadal, who returned to Wimbledon grass after his absence last year, overwhelmed the 27-year-old American, 43rd in the world, in a game played on the central court.
Nadal improved to 3-0 against Young, whom he had faced twice before at Indian Wells (in 2008 and 2015). The Spaniard broke Young’s serve in the first game of the opening set and his victory was never really threatened during the match.
The 31-year-old Nadal, winner of 15 Grand Slam tournaments (including two at Wimbledon in 2008 and 2010), will face 21-year-old Russian Karen Khachanov, who is seeded number 30, in the round of 32.
Nadal played a good game, but he was hardly pushed by the American so he didn’t get to show his best weapons and could improve his quality of play once his opponents start to get tougher.
The Spaniard reaches the third round only for the second time since 2011, when he lost the final. Nadal, who hopes wins his third Wimbledon trophy, can regain the world number one ranking if he reaches the final.
By winning Wimbledon and Roland Garros in 2017, Nadal would equal the record of Swedish tennis legend Bjorn Borg, who accomplished the feat in three occasions (1978, 1979 and 1980).
In the first round Nadal easily defeated Australian John Millman by a score of 6-1, 6-3, and 6-2 and won his 850th career victory after missing out on last year’s edition and suffering three early exits in his last three Wimbledon appearances.
In 2013 Nadal fell in the first round against Belgian Steve Darcis, in 2014 in the fourth against Australian Nick Kyrgios and in 2015 in the second against German Dustin Brown.
