Positive signs for Rafael Nadal as he beats Wawrinka in Hurlingham exhibition

The Spaniard looked good in his first competitive outing on grass and since undergoing radiofrequency treatment in his left foot

AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Simon Cambers

June 22, 2022

Rafael Nadal looked in good form and fine health on Wednesday as he came through an exhibition match with Stan Wawrinka at London’s Hurlingham Club unscathed.

Just over two weeks after having radiofrequency injections in his chronic left foot, the 22-time Grand Slam champion played superbly as he picked up an encouraging 6-2, 6-3 win over Wawrinka in the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic, played in perfect conditions in west London.

Rafael Nadal beats Stan Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3 in 61 minutes at the Hurlingham Classic. Looked good on the grass! pic.twitter.com/2J5OhxOgCB
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) June 22, 2022

The 36-year-old played superbly throughout, breaking in the second game on his way to a comfortable first set and though Wawrinka threatened to hit back in the second, he pulled away for a morale-boosting victory as he builds towards next week’s Wimbledon.

Providing he comes through the rest of this week with no issues, Nadal will be the No 2 seed at Wimbledon, where he will try to win the third leg of the calendar-year Grand Slam.

Nadal picked up his 14th Roland-Garros title earlier this month, moving him on to 22 Grand Slams, two clear of Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

Other Armani Tennis Classic results:
Wednesday: Novak Djokovic beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 6-1
Tuesday: Hugo Gaston beat Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-2