Having completed “la decima” at Roland Garros last month, winning his 10th French Open Singles Championship, Spanish superstar Rafa Nadal will presumably have a tougher time on the grass at Wimbledon if history is a guide. Nadal has won Wimbledon just twice (2008, 2010), a career accomplishment for almost any tennis player on earth — but a relative paucity for a player of Nadal’s level. Only the Australian Open title has eluded Nadal longer than Wimbledon — he last won down under in 2009, his only victory there, though he was a runner-up this year to Roger Federer’s unlikely, inspiring win.
Nadal looks to be in top form carrying his French momentum across the Channel to the All England Club. He beat Australian John Millman handily in the first round, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 for the 850th match win of his career. Due to injuries, Nadal didn’t play Wimbledon last year. And it was in the second round in 2015 that he lost to Dustin Brown to exit Wimbledon early. But the Nadal of 2015 was injury-plagued and the 2017 Nadal looks impervious — he’s ranked #2 in the world after a masterly clay court season. The two times Nadal has won Wimbledon, his victories have followed wins at the French, but since he nearly always wins the French it’s not a clear indicator…
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