World number one Rafael Nadal pulled back from the abyss to reach the Wimbledon third round on Thursday just when it looked as though bogeyman Lukas Rosol had returned to haunt him.

Two years after being knocked out at the same stage by the hard-hitting Czech in a late night Centre Court horror show, the Spaniard found himself a point away from falling two sets behind before fighting back to win 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4 6-4. If twice former champion Nadal is being made to work overtime so far, women’s favourite Serena Williams, bidding for a sixth singles title at the All England club, has marched through untroubled so far. The American beat South African Chanelle Scheepers 6-1 6-1 and has dropped a mere five games so far. Australia wildcard Nick Kyrgios produced the comeback of the day to knock out Richard Gasquet.

One of several young guns making an impact at the championships, the 19-year-old battled back from a two-set deficit and saved nine match points in a cliffhanger decider before sealing a 3-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5 10-8 victory. As well as reaching the third round of a slam for the first time, Kyrgios also earned the distinction of saving the most number of match points by a man at Wimbledon. Maria Sharapova put in a business-like performance to defeat qualifier Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-1 on her way to the third round.

Results:

Women’s Singles Round 2: Maria Sharapova beat Timea Bacsinszky 6-2 6-1; Alison Riske beat Camila Giorgi 7-5 6-2; Andrea Petkovic beat Irina Begu 6-4 3-6 6-1; Sabine Lisicki beat Karolina Pliskova 6-3 7-5; Ana Ivanovic beat Zheng Jie 6-4 6-0; Serena Williams beat Chanelle Scheepers 6-1 6-1. Men’s Singles Round 2: Stanislas Wawrinka beat Lu Yen-Hsun 7-6(6) 6-3 3-6 7-5; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Sam Querrey 4-6 7-6(2) 6-7(4) 6-3 14-12 ; Rafa Nadal beat Lukas Rosol 4-6 7-6(6) 6-4 6-4; Nick Kyrgios beat Richard Gasquet 3-6 6-7(4) 6-4 7-5 10-8 ; Jiri Vesely beat 24-Gael Monfils 7-6(3) 6-3 6-7(1) 6-7(3) 6-4.