World number one Rafael Nadal rallied back after losing the opening set against Lukas Rosol, while seven-time winner Roger Federer and reigning Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka advanced into the third round of the Wimbledon on Thursday.
Nadal, who was defeated by Rosol in 2012, refused to go down this time against the Czech and after losing the opening set, made a stunning comeback to move into the third round 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-4, 6-4 at the All England Club's Center Court.
The two-time champion was down 3-5 in the second tiebreaker, but the King of Clay held his nerves and even the encounter, when Rosol hit a double fault. Rosol racked up more winners than the nine-time French Open winner, but Nadal committed just 11 unforced errors, which made the difference at the end.
"Every match is so difficult here," Nadal said. "Especially when you play against players that really decide to play every shot (at) full power. I played a bad game in the 4-4 and I lost the first set."
"I think until that moment I was playing better than him, but didn't have my chances on the return because he was serving well," he added. "(I am) very happy. It is a very important victory for me... I finished the match playing at a very high level."
Meanwhile, Federer whistled past Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 to reach the third round of The Championship in a rain-interrupted match. The Swiss maestro fired 25 aces and won 91 per cent points on the first serve to wrap up the encounter in one hour and 34 minutes.
Federer was at his best and made just five unforced errors and one double fault, while hitting 44 winners against Muller. The 17-time major winner also extended his head-to-head record against the Luxembourg native to 4-0.
"It was only my second match and a totally different opponent to the first one - big lefty, coming to the net, keeping the ball short," Federer said. "It was really a serving contest out there, I thought, and I'm happy I made it because the second set was tough with the rain delay and I wasn't having many looks on his serve."
In another second round match, Swiss Wawrinka defeated Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei 7-6(6), 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 to advance into the Round 3. The fifth-seeded is now just one win away from equalling his best record at the Wimbledon.
Wawrinka saved two set points in the opening set and rallied back from a 4-6 deficit to take the lead. He racked up 56 winners and fired 13 aces against Yen-Hsun to clinch the match in one hour and 42 minutes.
"This year I had the chance after losing early in French Open, I had a wild card in Queen's, so I've been playing on grass almost three weeks now," Wawrinka said. "I'm feeling really confident with my game. I think that makes a big difference."
