Rafael Nadal commented on his controversial move to talk to his opponent Lorenzo Sonego during their third-round match at Wimbledon.
Nadal defeated Sonego in straight sets to reach the second week of the grass-court major. Despite doubts about his fitness and preparation for the tournament, the Spaniard is emerging as a potential winner in the making if he keeps performing as he did against the Italian.
The former World No. 1 is a two-time Wimbledon champion, but his struggles on this surface are well documented. He has taken his fair share of drubbings at this tournament, more than at any other Grand Slam in his career.
But Nadal is always competitive wherever he plays, and he did exceptionally well after Roland Garros to undergo treatment and complete his rehab in time to play Wimbledon again. He's been tipped to cause havoc when he gets to the second week, which he has.
His latest win was marred by a very controversial moment during the third set, during which Nadal complained of Sonego's grunting between points directly at him and not the umpire. It was only after the match that it became clear what transpired.
Both players had a different view of what happened. While Lorenzo Sonego claimed that his opponent "distracted" him, Nadal apologized for his actions at his post-match press conference. No one knows except for the Italian if he really got distracted.
"My intention was never to bother him at all. Just to tell one thing that was bothering me that I think he was doing in that moment, but that’s it. I think there is some codes between players. Yeah, we had some issues there. But that’s it."
"I was wrong. Probably, I should not have called him on the net. So, apologize for that. My mistake on that. No problem to recognize that. Then after that, all the stuff during the match that I don’t want to comment, because is something that I spoke with him in the locker room and it stays there. Only thing I can say is I saw him personally. I apologize for that."
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