Ruthless Nadal’s smashing rally

THE rain that kept Rafael Nadal’s third-round match going for five days stayed away long enough to thwart his fourth-round opponent and pave the way for the Spaniard to produce his best display yet on grass.

The 21-year-old Spaniard was the last man to get past the third round and, for an hour and a half, looked like being the first to go out at the next stage after losing the first two sets to an inspired Mikhail Youzhny.

But the Russian 14th seed faded badly after suffering a recurrence of a lower-back injury which forced his withdrawal from the Halle tournament last month and Nadal seized on his opportunity to secure a 4-6 3-6 6-1 6-2 6-2 victory.