Rafael Nadal stormed into the second round of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships with an emphatic 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 win over John Millman on Monday. It was an excellent performance by the 15-time Grand Slam champion who needed just one hour and 45 minutes to oust the Australian.
Nadal didn’t show any rust in his first match on grass this season, blasting 33 winners and winning 77 percent of his first serve points. What proved to be the difference in the match, however, was the Spaniard’s fabulous return. Nadal won 54 percent of his receiving points against Millman with the No. 4 seed converting eight of his 13 break point opportunities.
Nadal will look to keep the momentum going when he takes on Donald Young in the second round. The two-time Wimbledon champion will fancy his chances of doing just that as he has fared extremely well against the American in the past. Nadal has beaten Young in each of their previous two meetings with the King of Clay winning both of those matches in straight sets.
Donald Young has been handed a free pass into the second round of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships after Denis Istomin retired from their round-of-128 clash with an injury. Young was up two sets to one and 4-2 in the fourth set when Istomin decided to pull out of their first-round match. Things are bound to get tougher, though, for the American as he will next face Rafael Nadal. The 31-year-old hasn’t dropped a set in a Grand Slam match since his epic five-set loss to Roger Federer in the 2017 Australian Open final.
For Young to record a major shock in the next round, the Chicago native needs to dominate with his service game. Young’s serve was solid against Istomin as he converted 63 percent of his first serves. Young took full advantage of that fact, winning 55 of his 68 first serve points for a solid 81 percent clip. Young also needs to continue his excellent net play if he is to upset the mighty Nadal. He won 30 of his 36 net points in the first-round victory against Istomin.
