Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after defeating Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic
Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after defeating Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic. Reuters

Rafael Nadal will take on Mikhail Kukushkin in the third round of the 2014 Wimbledon Men's Singles at the Centre Court on Saturday.

Where to Watch Live

The play starts at 1pm BST. Live coverage is on BBC One and BBC Two. Live scores, regular updates, radio commentary and the live streaming link are available on Wimbledon's official website.

Overview

The world No 1 comes into this game after going through a scare in an earlier round in the ongoing competition.

Nadal, who crashed out of the Wimbledon in the second round in 2012, losing to Lukas Rosol, faced the same opponent in the second round this year.

Nadal lost the first set to Rosol on Thursday 4-6. The second set went down to the wire as the outcome was decided on a tie-breaker with the Spaniard winning 7-6 to level the scores. The 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon winner then made a comeback to seal the third and fourth sets comfortably.

Nadal won the match 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. He won the first round match against Martin Klizan in four sets and has already dropped a set each in both matches played in the competition.

Meanwhile, Kukushkin had a comfortable victory over Frank Dancevic in the second round of the 2014 Wimbledon on Thursday. The Russian tennis star went on to win the match in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-2.

Kukushkin had also won his opening match of the competition comfortably – once again in straight sets. He has not dropped a set so far in this year's Wimbledon, while his Saturday's opponent has already lost two sets.

Head-To-Head

Nadal has a 2-0 lead over Kukushkin in all meetings. The pair has never faced each other in a Grand Slam event.

Wimbledon History

Nadal will face Kukushkin for the first time in Wimbledon in the third round clash on Saturday.

What They Say

Rafael Nadal (after defeating Rosol): "I knew I had to keep fighting, waiting for my moment. I made a few mistakes but he was serving very well, then the second set was very important. Against Rosol, two sets down, it would have been very dangerous."

Rafael Nadal