Rafael Nadal has advanced to the third round at Wimbledon for the 11th time, after defeating Ricardo Beranques 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-3 on Thursday.
Nadal, however, seemed far from his best, but prevailed in a match that concluded under the roof following a rain delay in the fourth set on centre court.
It was Nadal’s 307th Grand Slam victory, with the victory over Martina Navratilova ranking him fourth all-time, behind Roger Federer (369), Serena Williams (365), and Novak Djokovic (330).
Nadal seeks to win his 23rd Grand Slam championship and his third at Wimbledon.
However, on Thursday, following his triumph on Centre Court, Nadal made a surprising retirement announcement. The tennis pro has won the Australian Open and the French Open while suffering from a persistent foot injury—the Mueller-Weiss syndrome. The Spaniard overcame difficulty to win his first major at Melbourne Park since 2009 and to establish a record-setting 14th victory at Roland Garros. Prior to his return to Wimbledon this year, Nadal had pulsed radiofrequency therapy, and he has already reached the third round.
In another match, former French Open champion Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to move to the third round to meet fellow strongman Nick Kyrgios.
It is the first time since 2018 that he has advanced to the third round at Wimbledon, having been eliminated in the first round both in 2018 and 2019. Tsitsipas, who lost the French Open final to Novak Djokovic in 2017, achieved a career-best performance at the All England Club in 2018, reaching the fourth round.
Kyrgios defeated 26th-seeded Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 on Court No. 2 and advanced to the third round with a performance that assured his tennis was the primary topic of conversation this time by demonstrating a variety of skills.
Kyrgios never faced a break point and remained composed throughout the match, avoiding any disputes with the chair umpire or the crowd, however, he did rebuke a spectator for coughing during the second set.