This one meant a lot to him and to the tennis player he coaches, his No. 1-ranked nephew Rafael Nadal, who was in a tough spot Thursday,
one point from trailing two sets to none against the same guy he lost to — in the same stadium, same round — two years ago at Wimbledon.
As the younger Nadal began turning things around, evening the match at a set apiece on his opponent’s double-fault, the older Nadal dispensed with any sense of decorum, leaping out his Centre Court seat, punching the air, and shouting “Vamos!”
From there, the ultimate result quickly became apparent. Nadal came back to beat 52nd-ranked Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 4-6, 7-6 (6), 6-4, 6-4, returning to the third round at the All England Club for the first time since 2011.
Three seeded men lost, including No. 13 Richard Gasquet, who wasted nine match points and was beaten by 19-year-old Nick Kyrgios of Australia 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-5, 10-8. Winners included No. 5 Stan Wawrinka, No. 8 Milos Raonic, No. 9 John Isner and No. 10 Kei Nishikori among the men, and past champions Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova among the women.
Nadal’s longtime rival, seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, turned in a far more straightforward performance, delivering 25 aces in a 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 win over 103rd-ranked Gilles Muller of Luxembourg to get back to the third round, too.
“For the most part, the locker room I’m in, it still seems pretty full — where all the seeded players are,” Isner said. “It’s good to see. It’s good for the tournament to have all the big names, especially the top four, still alive.”
