Rafael Nadal wins at least 16 consecutive Grand Slam matches for the 3rd time in his career

After a bit of trouble, Rafael Nadal overcame his second-round challenge as he defeated Lithuania's Ricardas Berankis 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3. The second seed broke the serve of the World No. 106 a total of four times while being broken twice himself.

The scoreline was pretty similar to Nadal's first match two days ago, when he beat Argentine Francisco Cerundolo 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Although fans would have expected the 36-year-old to win his initial matches in straight sets, the two-time Wimbledon winner struggled. He returned to SW19 after a gap of three years. His last match was against Roger Federer in the 2019 semifinals.

The Spaniard's second-round victory yesterday meant a 16th consecutive Grand Slam win for him, given that he won the Australian Open and Roland Garros. Nadal is yet to lose a match in Major events this year as he has a perfect 16-0 win-loss record.

"16 - Rafael #Nadal has won 16+ matches in a row in Grand Slam tournaments for the third time in his career, after having done so between Roland Garros 2010 - Australian Open 2011 (25 wins) and Roland Garros 2008 - US Open 2008 (19 wins). Superb," a fan page tweeted.

This is the third time that Nadal has registered a minimum of 16 straight Grand Slam wins. The first time he achieved this feat was from the 2008 French Open to the 2008 US Open. The Spaniard beat Federer in the finals in Paris and London and then reached the semifinals of the US Open before losing to Andy Murray, making it 19 wins in a row.

However, his best performance came in 2010-11 when Nadal won three back-to-back Grand Slams. After conquering Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open in 2010, Nadal was aiming for a fourth consecutive Major at the 2011 Australian Open. His compatriot David Ferrer stopped him in the quarterfinals by winning the match 6-4, 6-2, 6-3. Nadal won 25 straight Grand Slam matches in that period.

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Rafael Nadal faces Lorenzo Sonego in 3rd round

Rafael Nadal is through to the third round at Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal's next challenge is in the form of Italy's Lorenzo Sonego. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two players. World No. 54 Sonego beat Denis Kudla and Hugo Gaston in his first two matches. He also reached the fourth round at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships, where he lost to eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in straight sets.

In an on-court interview after the match, Nadal admitted that there is room for improvement in his game.

"Every day is a challenge, that's the truth. All the opponents are difficult. We are playing against the best players of the world. I need to improve. The fourth set was a better level. The serve worked much better and I was able to be more aggressive with my forehand. At the beginning, it was too many mistakes," Nadal said.