Rafael Nadal has words with Lorenzo Sonego at Wimbledon
Rafael Nadal had words with Lorenzo Sonego late in their match at Wimbledon on Saturday.
Nadal beat Sonego 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the third round of their match at the All England Club. Late in the match, Nadal was seen approaching the chair umpire, seemingly to complain about an issue.
Nadal then was seen speaking with Sonego at the net at around 4-4.
What? pic.twitter.com/qd1WSkidKc
— Del🇪🇺 (@Stroppa_Del) July 2, 2022
There was speculation that Nadal was upset with some grunting coming from Sonego.
After Nadal closed out the victory, the two met at the net again for a handshake. They had a talk at the net and then agreed to continue their conversation in the locker room.
Later while speaking with the media following his win, Nadal apologized for calling Sonego to the net to lecture him mid-match.
Nadal in press:
"I was wrong. Probably, I should not have called him on the net. So, apologize for that. My mistake on that. No problem to recognize that."
Nadal said he doesn't want to comment on specifics, but he said he spoke to Sonego in the locker room.#Wimbledon
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) July 2, 2022
This marked the first meeting between the men. There was some rockiness involved, but between Sonego’s composure and Nadal’s apology, they ended matters professionally.
