-
Nadal: Victory on Saturday.
Spain's Rafael Nadal breezed through to the last 16 at Wimbledon after a straight-sets win over Nicolas Kiefer.
Despite a sluggish start, the second seed overcame the German 7-6 6-2 6-3 in Saturday's last match on Centre Court.
Nadal was hardly at his best in the opening set but won a tie-break 7-3 to gain the edge against his 30-year-old opponent.
Kiefer, who spent 12 months on the sidelines with a wrist injury between 2006 and 2007, started well enough and looked comfortable in holding in his first two service games.
Nadal seemed to lack a little fluency early on but his booming forehand kept him well in touch.
The Spaniard had a break point at deuce in the seventh game but Kiefer confidently moved his opponent around the court despite the pressure and cushioned a volley down the centre to avert the danger.
Chance
The German then forced deuce from 40-0 down on the Nadal serve and had a break chance, but Nadal dictated the point and went on to hold for 4-4.
Kiefer, whose best performance at Wimbledon was a quarter-final back in 1997, aced to hold for 6-5 while Nadal held to love to force the tie-break.
The mini-break came as Kiefer fired a forehand wide after a protracted baseline rally and from then on, Nadal was in control.
Nadal broke the Kiefer serve at the first opportunity in the second set as the greater fitness of the Spaniard became evident for all to see.
The 27th seed was less than defiant when facing the break point, hitting a weak shot into the net to fall 2-0 behind in the set.
The 22-year-old Majorcan was beginning to find his rhythm and held to love to go 3-0 up.
In the seventh game, leading 4-2, he let fly with a fierce backhand which hit the chalk and flew away to give Kiefer no chance.
Nadal was not hanging around now and he brought up three set points on the Kiefer serve, seizing the first with a low return which the German drilled into the net.
Conclusion
The third set started poorly for Kiefer, double-faulting while trying to save a break point in his opening service game to fall 2-0 down and from then on the result was a foregone conclusion.
Another break followed for Nadal, who was now producing some irresistible tennis and although Kiefer delayed the inevitable with a break of his own while trailing 5-1, it wasn't too much longer before the contest was over.
He'll now meet Mikhail Youzhny, who beat Radek Stepanek even later on Saturday, 7-5 6-7 6-4 6-7 6-3.
Afterwards Nadal said: "Kiefer was a difficult opponent, he has a very good serve.
"Right now, I'm just happy to be in the fourth round, I'm doing well and have just lost one set (to get to the last 16). Now I know I have a tough opponent and I must focus on my game."
