Wimbledon: Nadal comes through tough Kukushkin test, Halep races away; Cilic stunned

London, July 6: Rafael Nadal was made to work hard by Mikhail Kukushkin despite a straight-sets win in the second round at Wimbledon.

The world number one has not been past the fourth round at the All England Club since 2011, but he overcame a significant obstacle en route to the third stage on Thursday.

Nadal was pegged back in the first set and trailed in the third, before eventually prevailing on each occasion, the second seed rescuing break points throughout against a dogged rival.

Kukushkin deserved more than a 6-4 6-3 6-4 reverse, but it is Nadal who marches on to face 80th-ranked teenager Alex de Minaur next.

Kukushkin tested Nadal from the off and he recovered from an early break to level the opener with a superb backhand cross-court return.

The Kazakh kept pushing and passed up another break point opportunity, but errors crept in towards the end of the set and Kukushkin gifted Nadal the lead when a ball agonisingly bounced away off the tape.

Not initially disheartened, Kukushkin continued to hold his own but succeeded only in momentarily bringing the best out of Nadal.

A series of fine returns secured break points for the Spaniard in the second set and the pressure told when Kukushkin sent a tired backhand into the net.

Although that was enough for Nadal to see out the set, he was then forced to stave off five break points at the start of the third and his determined opponent soon had a break.

Unfortunately for Kukushkin, though, there was an instant response as he returned a spinning ball off balance and spectacularly missed the court.

Nadal eventually nudged in front, measuring a shot into the right corner of the court, and celebrated wildly before regaining his composure to serve out a hard-fought win.

Djokovic eases through after injury timeout

Novak Djokovic eased into the third round of Wimbledon by beating Horacio Zeballos in straight sets but the three-time champion was treated for an injury in the final set.

Djokovic was far too good for the 126-ranked Zeballos, taking just an hour and 31 minutes to win 6-1 6-2 6-3 on No.2 Court on Thursday.

There was a concern for the limping 12th seed when he called for a medical timeout, seemingly struggling with his left quad.

Djokovic had been moving gingerly but did not appear to be hindered as he returned to the court to secure a third-round meeting with Kyle Edmund or Bradley Klahn.

The 12-time major winner, the runner-up at Queen's last month, struck 31 winners and made only four unforced errors, also serving superbly as Zeballos was unable to earn a solitary break point.

Djokovic set the tone by starting with a hold to love, going on to open up a 3-0 lead in quick time and he broke for a second time before ending the first set in only 22 minutes.

The Serbian was relentless, winning the first four games of a second set which he won with a third consecutive hold to love.

Argentinian Zeballos was given respite when Djokovic called for treatment in the third, but the former world number one was able to finish off the job in ruthless fashion.

Halep races away from Zheng after brief wobble

Simona Halep took time to find her best before ultimately avoiding a second-round shock at Wimbledon in comfortable fashion with a straight-sets win over Zheng Saisai.

Having finally clinched her first grand slam at the French Open, Halep was handed a draw that would have seen her face favourite Petra Kvitova in the fourth round, but the two-time champion bowed out in the first round to Aliksandra Sasnovich.

It briefly looked as if Halep was also on course for an early exit on Thursday when Zheng was handed the opportunity to serve for the first set on number one court.

But she was unable to claim the lead, with the world number one promptly reversing the tide, edging the opener and then racing away in the second set to claim a 7-5 6-0 success and set up a third-round clash with Hsieh Su-wei.

Despite seeing a net cord help her save a break point, Zheng lost her opening service game, but responded emphatically by breaking back to love.

A forehand pass from a narrow angle and some impressive reactions at the net then put Zheng up 40-0 on the Halep serve in the seventh game, and when the Romanian thumped a forehand into the net the Chinese had the initiative.

Halep pumped both fists after a blistering cross-court forehand brought up a break-back point, yet Zheng saved that thanks in part to a delicate drop shot, and some more strong play at the net allowed her to hold and move 5-3 up, though she would not win another game.

She subsequently spurned her chance to serve it out, netting with a backhand as Halep levelled before upping the ante, Zheng looking fatigued when she drifted a shot long to surrender the set.

Further evidence of Zheng being a fading force in the match came early in the second as she mishit a drop shot, Halep taking the second of the two break points that error provided as a precise forehand into the corner put her in control.

And Halep did not look back from there, completing a run of nine successive games to seal victory.

Pella rallies from two sets down to stun Cilic

Guido Pella pulled off a huge upset by coming from two sets down to beat last year's runner-up Marin Cilic in the second round at Wimbledon.

Third seed Cilic was two sets up when rain brought play to a halt on Wednesday, but Pella produced the biggest shock in the men's draw to come storming back and win 3-6 1-6 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 7-5.

Pella had never been beyond the second round of a grand slam nor won a main draw match at Wimbledon before this week, but the world number 82 from Argentina pulled himself off the ropes to dump out one of the favourites for the title and set up a meeting with Mackenzie McDonald.

Cilic had been dominant before the rain came, but the world number five was totally out of sorts when the match resumed on Thursday, committing 63 unforced errors as he bowed out after showing so much promise when he was crowned champion at Queen's.

An inspired Pella capitalised on a flat performance from Cilic, beaten by Roger Federer in the final 12 months ago, raising his first-serve percentage and making just 18 unforced errors as the 2014 US Open champion toiled.

Pella resumed with a 4-3 lead in the third set and prolonged the contest with two holds to love, then came from 3-1 down in the fourth to set up a tie-break, which he won despite falling 2-0 behind.

Cilic was unable to halt the momentum as he struggled on No.1 Court, but hung in there with a gutsy hold to level at 5-5 after saving two match points.

The 28-year-old Pella was not to be denied, though, a tight Cilic double-faulting and netting a forehand to crash out against an outsider who was knocked out in the first round in his last two tournaments prior to the grass-court major at SW19.

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Nadal [2] bt Kukushkin 6-4 6-3 6-4

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS Nadal – 19/18 Kukushkin - 28/34

ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS Nadal – 5/3 Kukushkin - 3/1

BREAK POINTS WON Nadal – 5/13 Kukushkin - 2/13

FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE Nadal – 66 Kukushkin - 72

PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE Nadal – 64/71 Kukushkin - 58/52

TOTAL POINTS Nadal – 106 Kukushkin - 85

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Djokovic [12] bt Zeballos 6-1 6-2 6-3

WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS

Djokovic - 31/4 Zeballos - 21/28