Rafael Nadal fends off late surge from Francisco Cerundolo, wins Wimbledon opener in four sets

You could forgive Rafael Nadal's fans if visions of Lukas Rosol, Steve Darcis and Dustin Brown were dancing in their heads.

Rafa—a two-time Wimbledon champion, three-time runner-up and semifinalist in his last two appearances in SW19, despite a quarterfinal-less stretch between 2012 and 2017—had his 23-year-old Argentine opponent on the ropes, up two sets. Francisco Cerundolo's career record on tour was 17-20, and he had never won a match at Wimbledon. If any contest could have been fast-forwarded to its conclusion without the viewer missing much, it was this one, at this juncture—no?

Well, Nadal did go on to win, 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, but it took much more effort than many would have predicted. Centre Court is no Court Phillipe Chatrier for the Spaniard, in part because the low-bounce surface helps his adversaries far more than does the terre battue. So when Cerundolo had nothing to lose, he hit like it, nailing forehands and putting Rafa on the run. With newfound confidence, Cerundolo made his service games count, and started to get into Nadal's. He took the match to a fourth set.

When Cerundolo took a break-of-serve lead in the fourth, those visions of dread began feeling all too real. Could Rafa actually blow this?

But if we're commending Cerundolo's late push, we must do the same for Nadal. Down 2-4 in the fourth, he won the last four games, and got the Centre Court crowd behind him more so that at any other point in the day.

While Rafa's preparation for Wimbledon—no grass-court tune-ups and a lingering foot injury—leaves his longterm title viability in question, there's no doubt that he'll give it all while he's at the All England Club.

I remember the days when I used to play the final at Roland-Garros and then the next day practice at Queen's on grass, but my body does not allow me to do this anymore. The most important thing is that I'm in Wimbledon 2022 and I just won my first match. Rafael Nadal