Rafael Nadal’s third-round opponent, Italian Lorenzo Sonego, is quietly confident ahead of tonight’s clash. The 27th seed has played two contrasting matches at Wimbledon so far. In the opening round, he duked it out over five sets against American Denis Kudla. Winning 6-7 (6-8), 6-3. 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, the Italian survived by the skin of his teeth. Sonego looked more assured in the second round, dispatching Frenchman Hugo Gaston 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4 in straight sets.

Also Read: The Racqueteers: Bad boys Nick Kyrgios and Stefanos Tsitsipas face off in Wimbledon

Speaking ahead of his crunch clash against Nadal, the world no. 54 feels his aggressive style is better suited to grass, giving him the best chance to compete with Rafa’s intensity on the surface:

“Grass is the best surface to meet him. I will definitely have to be very aggressive with my serve and my forehand. On this surface, being wait-and-see doesn’t help anyone. I feel good because the ball squirts less, I often find myself at hip height for the backhand, that’s what I prefer,” quotes TennisWorld USA.

Sonego is no stranger to high-profile encounters at Centre Court. His brief but spirited showing against record-Wimbledon champion Roger Federer should stand him in good stead against the irrepressible Spaniard. For his part, Nadal- seeded 2nd- will look to carry the momentum from his final set against Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis. After dropping the third, the Spaniard raised his level to stub talk of a Berankis comeback. Speaking after the match, the Spaniard was first to admit that improvements were needed going forwards whilst also alluding to his long layoff from grass:

“I need to improve. Every day is a challenge, that’s the truth. All the opponents are difficult. We are playing against the best players of the world and especially even in these conditions, it will be more [difficult]. I didn’t play much on grass for the past three years,” quotes TennisWorld USA.

Also Read: Wimbledon 2022: Rafael Nadal opts for precautionary home stay as Bautista Agut gets COVID

Irrespective, an expectant Centre Court crowd awaits. Nadal-far from convincing early doors- has yet to be exposed consistently. Fine-tuning his game on the fly, the Mallorcan is not yet the finished article on grass. It is up to Sonego to find a ruthless streak to quash Nadal’s gathering charge.