Nervous Nadal haunted by hilarious Wimbledon mishap

Rafael Nadal has clearly learned his lesson after suffering a hilarious mishap before his Wimbledon loss to Gilles Muller.

Tennis fans will remember the funny moments before his shock loss in July when he was doing some customary warm-up jumps in the tunnel at the All-England Club and accidentally whacked his head on the door frame.

Whether or not the head knock resulted in the loss is another matter, but the new World No.1 is clearly still haunted by it.

Before his victory over Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati on Thursday, Nadal was back doing his warm-up jumps in the tunnel.

However he debuted an added feature to the warm-up: Checking above him before jumping!

Once bitten, twice shy, as they say. At least he's putting his safety first.

Nadal extended his spotless record against Gasquet, while unseeded American teenager Frances Tiafoe upset Alexander Zverev to reach the third round of the Cincinnati Open.

It must have felt like deja vu for the Frenchman, who fell 6-3 6-4 to drop to 0-15 against Nadal. Gasquet last won a set against the Spaniard in 2008.

Nadal, who repelled the only break point he faced in the match, served out the match at love in the 10th game, firing in three aces, including the finishing point.

“I work every day to play better. It's obvious that was an important start for me, a good one," said French Open champion Nadal, who will claim the world No.1 spot on Monday.

"Now I have another opportunity tomorrow to go on court and play."

The 15-times grand slam winner will next face fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas, who eliminated Nadal's Wimbledon conqueror Muller.