Rafael Nadal had little to quibble about after cruising into the second round of Wimbledon. The second seeded-Spaniard was not at his sparkling best but he proved too strong for big-serving American Mardy Fish, winning 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in two hours and 18 minutes on Centre Court. In the process, he offered further evidence of his growing confidence on grass even though the soft surface, due to days of wet weather, is hardly conducive to his baseline game. "I felt very good today," he said. "I returned very well. "There was just one moment in the third set when my serve went off. But that's normal. "I need to improve on that a little bit. Need to improve the second serve. But the rest, especially playing from the baseline was very, very good. I am feeling good." If Nadal is starting to become accustomed to the green lawns of SW19 then the rest of the men's draw ought to be worried. Although he lacks the serve-volley game which world number one and four-time defending champion Roger Federer uses to such great effect, the Spaniard's unparalleled excellence from the baseline marks him out as a serious contender to dethrone the Swiss. Not that the man from the holiday island of Mallorca was getting carried away with his exploits against Fish. He added: "I am happy with the win but it's just the first match. I felt very comfortable on court but it is just the first round." Nadal, who clinched his third successive French Open crown earlier this month, looked at ease on the lush turf of SW19 from the outset. He opened with a love service game and even attempted a Boris Becker-esque rolling dive in the second. Fish held his own in the early stages although he gifted Nadal the first break of the contest with a double fault which handed the Spaniard a 4-2 lead. The 21-year-old served it out to establish a one-set advantage. Fish certainly contributed to an entertaining encounter and he comfortably fended off Nadal in a second set which remained on serve up to the tie-break. The 25-year-old threatened to level the match but a misjudgement at 4-4, when he allowed a Nadal forehand to dip inside the baseline, derailed his challenge. Again, Nadal was ruthless in the way he took full advantage. With two sets in the bag, Nadal's concentration wavered at the start of the third with Fish finally claiming his first break point after an hour and 54 minutes. But he was unable to convert, clipping a half volley long, while a second chance was lost when Nadal whipped a wonderful forehand winner which Hawk-Eye confirmed had clipped the line. The clay court specialist's shot was shown to have landed in by a fraction of an inch. A deflated Fish then served a double-fault to hand Nadal the chance to serve for the match which he gobbled up gratefully. Next up for the left-hander is a meeting with Austria's Werner Eschauer. | 
