Rafael Nadal has struggled at Wimbledon in recent years. Novak Djokovic has struggled in general recently. But both players had no issues in picking up straight-set wins on Thursday to advance to the third round at at the All England Club.
The second-seeded Nadal, who has two Wimbledon titles but hasn't advanced past the fourth round since 2011, beat Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Kukushkin, whos flat-hitting style starkly contrasted Nadal's topspin-heavy game, had break chances in every set and did manage to go up a break early in the third. But Nadal eventually overpowered the world No.