AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali
A calendar Grand Slam remains in play for Rafael Nadal, who advanced to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon on Monday.
Nadal beat No. 21 seed Botic van de Zandschulp. Elsewhere in the men’s singles draw, Nick Kyrgios outlasted Brandon Nakashima in a five-setter.
Men’s Singles Results
No. 2 Rafael Nadal def. No. 21 Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(6)
No. 11 Taylor Fritz def. Jason Kubler 6-3, 6-1, 6-4
Cristian Garin def. No. 19 Alex de Minaur 2-6, 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-4, 7-6(6)
Nick Kyrgios def. Brandon Nakashima 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2
Women’s Singles Results
No. 16 Simona Halep def. No. 4 Paula Badosa 6-1, 6-2
No. 17 Elena Rybakina def. Petra Martic 7-5, 6-3
No. 20 Amanda Anisimova def. Harmony Tan 6-2, 6-3
Ajla Tomljanovic def. Alize Cornet 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
Recap
Kyrgios’ upset of fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas made for great theater. Beyond the drama they generated through their four-set battle, the two were clearly attempting to get under one another’s skin.
On Monday, the Australian seemed to be more singularly focused on the task at hand.
Kyrgios had to dig out of an early hole after Nakashima took the first set. Dropping serve at 4-5 provided the breakthrough Nakashima needed.
In the second and third sets, Kyrgios was determined not to let that happen again. He registered 19 aces and one double-fault over the two sets and won 49 of his 61 service points.
Nakashima appeared to retake control of the match when he earned two service breaks and cruised in the fourth set.
But Kyrgios hit the reset button during the break in play and dominated the decisive frame. He hit 16 winners to five unforced errors and won 15-of-19 first-service points.
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Nadal didn’t have anywhere near the same trouble with Van de Zandschulp. Van de Zandschulp mounted some resistance in the third set, but it was far too late to make a difference on the match.
The Dutchman simply had no answers for Nadal’s serve. The two-time Wimbledon champion won 73 percent of his first-service points and 66 percent of his points on second serve.
Three of Van de Zandschulp’s four break-point opportunities came in the third set, when he was attempting to dig himself out of a massive hole.
When Nadal couldn’t capitalize on triple match point in the tiebreaker, it looked like the southpaw might have to go to a fourth set. He quickly regained his focus and clinched the victory.
In the women’s singles draw, Simona Halep made a major statement to the remaining field with a straightforward straight-set upset of No. 4 Paula Badosa.
The 2019 Wimbledon champion has yet to drop a set and lost only 22 games through her first four matches. That efficiency carried over into Monday as she needed just one hour to earn the win.
It was a triumphant return to Centre Court for Halep, who hadn’t played there since the 2019 final.
“Actually, I was more nervous yesterday than today,” she said after the match. “It’s very special to be back I missed a lot, to play in Wimbledon. Three years was a lot … It’s always a pleasure to come back and to have the chance to play on Centre Court.”
Halep will play Amanda Anisimova in the quarterfinals in what might be a de facto championship since she and Anisimova have been two of the top performers at the All England Club this year.
On the heels of upsetting Coco Gauff in the third round, the 20-year-old American ended Harmony Tan’s Cinderella run.
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