Watch Rafael Nadal vs. Ryan Sweeting Replay

Nadal survive on his first matched. First set, Nadal 3-1 Sweeting*: The barrage is starting. Nadal is forcing Sweeting further and further back with his huge groundstrokes, before coming forward to put easy volleys away. Amazingly though, Nadal lets him off the hook and hits long off Sweeting's second serve. First set, Nadal* 4-1 Sweeting: Looking to break back, Sweeting goes 0-15 up. Right? More venomous Nadal forehands get Sweeting on the run and from a wide position on the left, he has to go for a near-impossible backhand winner down the line. You don't get many chances against Nadal. First set, Nadal 4-2 Sweeting*: Apparently the average height for a tennis player these days is 6ft 2in. Nadal's an inch below that, Sweeting's three above it. First set, Nadal 5-3 Sweeting*: John McEnrore is being educated on the British way of pronunciation by Andrew Castle. Serving to stay in the set, Sweeting looks comfortable enough as Nadal sleepily lets him move 40-15 ahead. Now, though, he'll have to break Nadal. Nadal wins the first set 6-3: Nadal's on the hunt now. Sweeting hits a forehand down the line and it lands right on the baseline - and Nadal responds by delicately flicking a forehand just over the net, the ball landing dead as it drops inside the left service box. Second set, Nadal 6-3, 1-0 Sweeting*: A fine start to the second set for Sweeting, as he double faults straight away. The frustration for Sweeting is that Nadal's not really playing that well, but he hasn't yet taken advantage. This is better though, a strong forehand down the line beating Nadal for 30-15. Second set, Nadal* 6-3, 2-0 Sweeting: Sweeting goes 0-15 up. So Nadal pounds down a huge serve. Sweeting's 6ft 5in frame is forced to stoop low to reach a low approach shot from Nadal, and he can only slice a backhand into the net.
Second set, Nadal 6-3, 3-0 Sweeting*: It's getting ugly. At 15-15, a cross-court forehand from Nadal, left to right, moves Sweeting wide again. From there, he makes another error to give Nadal two break points. Sweeting comes to the net and has time to kill off the point with a forehand, but instead tries the drop shot. Second set, Nadal* 6-3, 4-0 Sweeting: Everything's going for Nadal today. Expect Nadal, any moment now, to ask when the real match starts. Sweeting, realising he has to go for it now, wallops a forehand long and Nadal holds to 15.
Second set, Nadal 6-3, 4-1 Sweeting*: The crowd are now showing sympathy for Sweeting. It only serves to wake Nadal up though, and he gets a break point after a trade of shots at the net. Nadal wastes his chance though, hitting long, presumably because he's now on auto-pilot. A third break point is wasted as Nadal's cross-court forehand goes wide, and then out of nowhere Sweeting gets to advantage and only goes and wins the game, Nadal slicing into the net. Second set, Nadal* 6-3, 5-1 Sweeting: A gorgeous forehand volley from Nadal, giving Sweeting no chance, moves him 15-0 up. An unforced error from Sweeting, followed by a canny forehand and a big serve from Nadal wraps up the game in double-quick time.
Second set, Nadal 6-3, 5-2 Sweeting*: Sweeting's never been beyond a second round of a major. At deuce, Sweeting gets a drop shot right, although Nadal's so fast that he astonishingly manages to make it. Nadal dinks his backhand over the net, but Sweeting's there to lob it back over him. So off Nadal goes again. Nadal wins the second set 6-2; leads 2-0 in sets: So Sweetingdelays the inevitable for a few minutes makes Nadal serve for the second set. Third set, Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 0-1 Sweeting*: You never know in tennis. Maybe Nadal will twist his ankle. Nadal then moves 15-30 ahead, moving around his forehand to whistle an unstoppable shot from right to left and past Sweeting. Sweeting, though, realises the need for aggression now, attacking the net to win the next two points. Nadal gets it back to deuce though, mainly because Sweeting's second serve is so poor. Whenever he misses his first, it seems Nadal always wins the point. After a brief to-and-fro, Sweeting mistimes a shot into the net after assuming a mis-hit from Nadal had gone out. Break point. The point's replayed, but Sweeting rescues the break point. Luckily for him, Nadal's not on top form today, and again loops a forehand long. Sweeting finally gets rewarded for showing a bit of pluck as Nadal sends a forehand wide. Now he just has to do it on Nadal's serve.
Third set, Nadal* 6-3, 6-2, 1-1 Sweeting: Yeah, so he just has to break Nadal. Easy. Third set, Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 2-1 Sweeting*: Yeah, so Nadal just has to break Sweeting. It doesn't take long for Nadal to get two break points after Sweeting hits into the net. In case you weren't aware, Nadal's going to win.
Third set, Nadal* 6-3, 6-2, 2-2 Sweeting: Well maybe Nadal's not going to have it all his own away. Remarkably Sweeting gets it back to deuce, and then gets his first break point of the match as Nadal fails to beat the net. Huge hitting from Sweeting puts Nadal under pressure, and an exquisite volley brings him level. Third set, Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 2-3 Sweeting*: Maybe, just maybe, we've got a match on our hands all of a sudden. Pressure off, he's letting it all out now and at 40-30, a pounding, deep backhand from Sweeting sees Nadal skew a slice into the net. Third set, Nadal* 6-3, 6-2, 3-3 Sweeting: This is one of the best rallies of the match so far, huge hitting from both men, the ball fizzing from side to side. Ultimately Nadal wins the point to go 15-0 up with a cute backhand volley. Three unforced errors from Sweeting, each shot long, see Nadal hold to 15. Third set, Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 4-3 Sweeting*: The revival was short-lived. Nadal moves in for the kill and rams a forehand into the open space for 0-30. And this is so frustrating for Sweeting, another double-fault giving Nadal two break points and the chance to wrestle back dominance. Sweeting only has himself to blame.
Third set, Nadal* 6-3, 6-2, 5-3 Sweeting: Maybe. Sweeting gives himself a half-chance at 15-15 with a superb backhand that Nadal can only volley wide. Sweeting's hopes are dashed though. It beats Nadal, but lands just long. Sweeting hits a forehand long eventually to leave Nadal a game away from the third round.
Third set, Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 5-4 Sweeting*: Nadal returns with a new racquet. Sweeting holds to 15 as Nadal sends a backhand return wide. He wins a game. Unfortunately Nadal will now serve for a place in the third round.