Nadal and Djokovic straight back to work

London: The scoreboard read 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to Rafael Nadal but it was an uneasy two-and-a-half hours for the Spanish world No. 1 as he laboured past Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin into the Wimbledon third round on Thursday.

Two-time champion Nadal, 32, never quite got to grips with the unorthodox Kazakh’s low, skidding shots and faced 13 break points in an entertaining Centre Court contest.

Had Kukushkin converted a few more of them it could have got really complicated for Nadal, who is still finding his grass-court game after claiming an 11th French Open title.

Nadal took 10 minutes to hold his opening service game and was still being asked questions by the world No. 77 in the third when he slipped 3-1 behind in the face of some inspired shot-making by his opponent.

The 17-times Grand Slam champion dug in though and managed to avoid being dragged further into the afternoon, claiming victory when Kukushkin’s forehand smacked into the net tape.

“It was very tough because he played very well,” said Nadal. “On grass, the ball bounces really low so it was a good test. I am happy to go through, I think I played better than the first day.

“I knew it is going to be a tough match, so I went onto the court with the determination and intensity, thinking I can’t make any mistakes.

“The most important thing is you can’t save your body at major championships, you give your best. Sometimes things go better, sometimes worse. Sometimes three sets, sometimes in five you go through. Of course I prefer to win in straight sets but I like to compete.”

Nadal will face Australian teenager Alex De Minaur next.

Novak Djokovic also made it through to the third round with a straight sets win over Horacio Zeballos of Argentina.

The former world No. 1, seeded 12th at the All England Club as he makes his way back from an elbow injury, won 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 for his 60th win at the tournament.

The three-time Wimbledon champion, more used to playing on the main Centre Court or Court One arenas, was in the strange position of playing on the 4,000-seater Court Two.

Djokovic had treatment on his left thigh in the third set but overcame the problem to see out the set.

He faces either British 21st seed Kyle Edmund or US qualifier Bradley Klahn in Saturday’s third round.

Guido Pella of Argentina came from two sets down to stun third-seeded Marin Cilic at Wimbledon, beating last year’s finalist 3-6, 1-6, 6-4, 7-6, 7-5 in the second round.

Cilic looked headed for a routine victory before the match was suspended by rain in the third set on Wednesday but the former US Open champion couldn’t find the same rhythm on Thursday.

“Yesterday he was playing so, so good, and hitting the ball so hard that I couldn’t do anything,” the 82nd-ranked Pella said. “So the rain helped me a lot.”

He’s reached the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time.

Cilic was runner-up to Roger Federer last year and showed great form by beating Novak Djokovic in the Queen’s Club final last month.

His early exit opens up Federer’s path to the final even more, with No. 8 Kevin Anderson now the highest-seeded player left in the Swiss star’s side of the draw after No. 6 Grigor Dimitrov lost in the first round.

Selected results

Men’s Singles

Second Round

Frances Tiafoe, United States, def. Julien Benneteau, France, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Nick Kyrgios (15), Australia, def. Robin Haase, Netherlands, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5

Gilles Simon, France, def. Matteo Berrettini, Italy, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2

Alex De Minaur, Australia, def. Pierre-Hugues Herbert, France, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3

Rafael Nadal (2), Spain, def. Mikhail Kukushkin, Kazakhstan, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4

Novak Djokovic (12), Serbia, def. Horacio Zeballos, Argentina, 6-1, 6-2, 6-3

Women’s Singles

Second Round

Su-Wei Hsieh, Taiwan, def. Lara Arruabarrena-Vecino, Spain, 6-3, 6-3

Elise Mertens (15), Belgium, def. Sachia Vickery, United States, 6-1, 6-3

Daria Gavrilova (26), Australia, def. Samantha Stosur, Australia, 6-4, 6-1

Ashleigh Barty (17), Australia, def. Eugenie Bouchard, Canada, 6-4, 7-5

Daria Kasatkina (14), Russia, def. Yulia Putintseva, Kazakhstan, 6-2, 6-3

Angelique Kerber (11), Germany, def. Claire Liu, United States, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4

Naomi Osaka (18), Japan, def. Katie Boulter, Britain, 6-3, 6-4

Carla Suarez-Navarro (27), Spain, def. Sara Sorribes Tormo, Spain, 6-4, 6-1

Barbora Strycova (23), Czech Republic, def. Lesia Tsurenko, Ukraine, 6-1, 6-4

Katerina Siniakova, Czech Republic, def. Ons Jabeur, Tunisia, 5-7, 6-4, 9-7