Rafael Nadal meets Steve Darcis on Monday for their first round match of Wimbledon 2013. The match starts at 10 a.m. ET. Tune in to ESPN or watch the live stream HERE.
Nadal has played phenomenally this season coming off a knee injury that previously sidelined him for seven months. He won the 2013 French Open, and he's made it the finals in every tournament this season, TennisEarth.com reports.
Nadal did choose, however, to withdraw from the Gerry Weber Open on account of fatigue. He also spoke about the difficulty of transitioning from clay to grass.
"It's always a nice feeling [to] play on grass, a surface that I really like to play," Nadal told reporters. "Without playing a tournament before here always is a little bit tougher, because is easier to adjust your game on the competition because you really play with the real feelings than when you are only practicing."
The No.5 seed looks to do better than his early exit last year in the second round. His first round match pits him against Steve Darcis, whom Nadal spoke well of.
"He's a good, talented player," Nadal said. "He knows how to play tennis in all the surfaces. He has good shots. I say he is a complete player. I have to play well. I have to play very competitive from the beginning."
Darcis is ranked No.135 in the World, and he's struggled this season with a 2-6 record. He's won two ATP World Tour Titles in his career.
Nadal and Darcis have met once in their careers with Nadal leading, 1-0.
