Wimbledon | Nadal sorry for Berrettini

Rafa Nadal believes his bid to secure the third part of a Calender Grand Slam will not be hit by the coronavirus.

I know how sad he will probably feel. So I am sorry for him and wish him a quick recovery. If I am not wrong, Matteo has been sick for a couple of days Rafa Nadal

The two-time Wimbledon champion, who has already lifted the Australian and French Opens this year, faces Ricardas Bernakis of Lithuania in the second round of this year’s tournament after a bumpy ride to victory over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in his first grass court match in three years.

Nadal, who has won a record 22 majors, practised with Matteo Berrettini last Thursday and the Italian has since withdrawn from the event after testing positive for Covid-19, following Marin Cilic who pulled out for the same reason.

But the Spaniard said: “It is difficult to be a close contact when you are outside and when you are practising. It’s just that in the outdoors, things look like historically they are more difficult.

“But anything can happen, no? For the moment I am feeling great, no problems at all. The main thing is I feel very sorry for him because he was playing fantastically, winning two tournaments before this tournament started.

“Matteo is a very good colleague on tour. We know each other well. I know how sad he will probably feel. So I am sorry for him and wish him a quick recovery. If I am not wrong, Matteo has been sick for a couple of days. He was unlucky the last couple of months, without a doubt.”