There was no shock first-round exit for Rafael Nadal in Wimbledon, as the Spanish superstar sailed to the second round with a dominant win over Thomaz Bellucci. The World No. 10 now faces off with Germany’s Dustin Brown, who should feel confident entering his matchup with the Spaniard given how their past meeting played out.
Is a second-round upset in the cards? Read on for our preview of Nadal-Brown. And for other second-round Wimbledon previews, we’ve got you covered with Federer vs. Querrey and Murray vs. Haase.
After getting upset by Alexandr Dolgopolov in the first round in Queens a couple weeks ago, Rafael Nadal bounced back with a strong straight-sets win – 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 – in his first round Wimbledon matchup against Thomaz Bellucci. With the win, Nadal improves to 5-1 on grass this season. He was victorious in the Mercedes Cup at Stuttgart prior to his quick exit at Queens.
[sc:Other240banner ]It was hardly a perfect performance from Nadal, who had more unforced errors (23) than winners (21) against Bellucci. But Nadal’s return game was no match for the World No. 42, as the Spaniard won 46 percent of return points and six of 12 break points.
Nadal’s top notch return game – he ranks No. 3 in first serve return points won and No. 6 in second serve return points won this season – will be crucial in negating the strong serve of his next opponent, Dustin Brown.
Meanwhile, Nadal’s ferocious forehand, which was misfiring early in the season, looked much improved against Bellucci. He was also moving much more freely around the court, a good sign given his well-documented injury concerns.
But while Nadal’s first round performance was encouraging, it’s still worth noting that Nadal has failed to get past the second round at Wimbledon twice in the past three years.
Betting on Dustin Brown
Dustin Brown will be playing the second round of Wimbledon for just the second time in his career after a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 win over Yen-Hsun Lu in the first round. The 30-year old German qualifier lost the first set, but he dug deep and took the next three in a row to wrap up the win in just over two hours.
Brown’s patented serve and volley strategy worked very well against Lu. Brown smashed home 16 aces, won 81 percent of his first serve points and fired home 61 winners. However, he did have 34 unforced errors, including nine double faults.
That aggressive “first strike” gameplan of applying immediate pressure on the receiver upon delivering a strong serve should help Brown avoid the longer rallies, where Nadal will hold a marked advantage.
That tactic has already proven to be very successful against Nadal. Brown scored the biggest win of his career over the Spaniard in their only other career meeting last year on the grass courts of the Gerry Weber Open. Brown scored 11 aces and won an impressive 84 percent of first serve points in that match as he demolished the then-No. 1-ranked Nadal, 6-4, 6-1.
Writer’s Prediction
Brown gives Nadal problems again, but he can’t sustain the pressure and ultimately falls short. Nadal wins in four sets. Create a betting account now and start winning with all the top Wimbledon action.
