ALL SO EASY FOR NADAL

RAFAEL NADAL cruised through his firstround match at Wimbledon yesterday, beating diminutive Israeli Dudi Sela 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

With a difference of four inches in height and 20 kilos in weight between the two players, this had the feel of a mismatch from the start and Nadal duly pummelled his weaker opponent into submission with a series of heavy serves and forehands.

The Spaniard, who claimed his 11th French Open last month, always looked comfortable on a surface he had not played on for a year, although his first breakthrough didn’t come until Sela double-faulted to make it 5-3 in the first set.

A decade on from beating Roger Federer in their classic Wimbledon final, ambition still burns deep within 32-yearold Nadal, who won the All-England crown in 2008 and 2010 but has not gone beyond the fourth round since 2011, when he was runner-up to Novak Djokovic.

“There’s still room to improve but after a while without playing on grass it was important to start with a straight victory.” he said.