Spain’s Rafael Nadal returns the ball to Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo during their men’s singles tennis match on the second day of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on Tuesday. LONDON: Rafael Nadal overcame a scare in his Wimbledon opener on Tuesday, fighting back from dropping the third set and falling a break down in the fourth to eventually see off Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo. Second seed Nadal, playing on grass for the first time since his 2019 Wimbledon semi-final loss to Roger Federer, triumphed 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 over 41st-ranked Cerundolo, who was making his All England Club debut. But the 36-year-old Spaniard, who has already captured the Australian and French Opens this year to stand halfway to the first mens’s calendar Slam since 1969, did it the hard way. After coasting through the first two sets on Centre Court, he surrendered an early break in the third set and then had to claw his way back from 3-1 and 4-2 down in the fourth. “Three years without being here on this amazing surface, it is amazing to be back,” said Nadal. “We don’t play very often on grass, especially in my case. In the last three years I didn’t put a foot on the grass.” Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon champion, arrived at the tournament with question marks over his durability for the two weeks having played the entire French Open with his troublesome left foot anaesthetised. He has since undergone a course of radiofrequency stimulation, a treatment aimed at reducing nerve pain in his foot. “Every day is a test. I am at the beginning of the tournament and everyone knows the difficult circumstances that I had,” he said. “But for me the most important thing is that I am at Wimbledon in 2022 and I won the first match.” Nadal will take on Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania for a place in the last 32. Covid-hit Berrettini pulls out: Title contender Matteo Berrettini was forced to pull out of Wimbledon on Tuesday after testing positive for coronavirus as women’s top seed Iga Swiatek extended her winning streak to 36 matches. The early action at the All England Club on Tuesday was overshadowed by the announcement from Berrettini — last year’s runner-up — that he was out of the event. “I am heartbroken to announce that I need to withdraw from @wimbledon due to a positive COVID-19 test result,” the 26-year-old Italian wrote on Instagram. Berrettini was widely regarded as one of the biggest threats to defending champion Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, having captured back-to-back grass-court titles in Stuttgart and Queen’s. He is the second man to withdraw from Wimbledon with Covid in two days after 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic of Croatia also tested positive. “I have no words to describe the extreme disappointment I feel,” Berrettini, seeded eighth, said in his statement. “The dream is over for this year, but I will be back stronger.” The Italian was a potential semi-final opponent for two-time champion Nadal. His place in the Wimbledon first round will be taken by Sweden’s Elias Ymer, a lucky loser from qualifying. Wimbledon has returned to normal this year after the tournament was cancelled due to Covid in 2020 and last year was played in front of reduced crowds. The All England Club said in a statement that protocols remained in place to minimise the risk of infection. Poland’s world number one Swiatek coasted into the second round with a routine 6-0, 6-3 against Croatian qualifier Jana Fett. The French Open champion, who has won her past six tournaments, said she was relishing the atmosphere at the grass-court tournament. “I feel I have only played 12 weeks of my life on grass but the whole atmosphere and tradition is pumping me up and just looking forward to the next matches,” she said. Also in the women’s draw, fourth seed Paula Badosa of Spain beat American Louisa Chirico for the loss of just three games.