Nadal advances to fourth round at Wimbledon
Defending champion Andy Murray also advances
Rafael Nadal is on his way to the fourth round at Wimbledon, and he’s three matches away from taking over as the No. 1 player in the world.
Nadal beat Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (3) Friday on Centre Court. If he reaches the final at the All England Club, the two- time Wimbledon champion will take over from Andy Murray as the top-ranked player in the world.
“First set and a half, I think, was very, very well. Very happy (with) the way that I played,” Nadal said in a television interview after walking off court. “Then it was a little bit tougher. I think I stopped a little bit with the legs and he started to hit stronger, but he’s still a tough opponent and it’s impossible to win easy.”
Defending champion Andy Murray also had a tough opponent, but he came through a difficult fourth set to beat Fabio Fognini 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.
Fognini led 5-2 in the fourth set and had five set points, but Murray won the final five games to reach the fourth round.
“When you’re playing a guy who has all the shots like him, it’s difficult,” Murray said. “He generates power with very short swings. It’s difficult to see when he’s going to hit the ball big and he was taking me out of my rhythm.”