Spain seeks solace with Nadal

Rafael Nadal helped to bring a smile back to the crestfallen face of Spanish sport after making a bright start at Wimbledon yesterday.

A 6-3 6-3 6-2 victory over Israel’s Dudi Sela, a player with an attractive backhand but lacking the tools to really threaten, was a solid opening to Nadal’s campaign.

Hopes his country had of World Cup glory were shattered by Russia in a penalty shoot-out on Sunday.

“It is probably sad to say, but if we are not there it is because we didn’t do things well enough to be there,” said Nadal.

“In sport, in the highest level of sport, when you play well, even playing very well you can lose, without playing well the chances of winning are less.

“In that case, yeah, it was not the best match for us.”

A decade on from beating Roger Federer in their classic Wimbledon final, Nadal is firmly established as an all-time great, but ambition still burns deep within the left-hander from Majorca.

He is aiming to add to the Wimbledon titles he landed in 2008 and 2010, and determined also to improve a record that shows he has not passed the fourth round since 2011, when he was runner-up to Novak Djokovic.

His game appeared in good working order, despite skipping the grass-court tour events between his Roland Garros triumph and this fortnight.

And after compatriot Garbine Muguruza began the Centre Court action on Tuesday with a successful opening to her title defence, Nadal was satisfied with his own effort in the match that followed.

He said: “It’s great to be out here at Wimbledon. I’m happy to be through. There’s still room to improve but after a while without playing on grass it’s very important to start with a straight victory.”

Nick Kyrgios left a Wimbledon ball girl in tears after one of his serves struck her on the arm.

The Australian, who is one of the fastest servers in men’s tennis, smashed an ace past Denis Istomin, only to moments later realise he had hit the poor girl.

Asked about the incident, Kyrgios said: “Yeah, it was tough.

“Originally when I heard the sound, I thought it hit the scoreboard. Then I realised it was her arm.

“It was tough — she started crying. She took it like a champ, though. I would have been crying, for sure.”

Kyrgios beat Istomin 7-6 7-6 6-7 6-3 to progress.