It was a fabulous display from Nadal on grass but it was overshadowed by the player's spat during the match with the Italian very upset.
He had earlier dropped a set each in his first two matches on return to the All England Club for the first time in three years, but Nadal looked in his supreme best on grass as he took down the 27th seed with a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 win.
During the third set, Nadal had called Sonego to the net as he was left unhappy with the Italian grunting during points. But the act did not go down well with the Italian who later accused Nadal for distracting him off his game.
Speaking after the match, Sonego said:
“A player should not call his opponent on the net. You cannot do that at Wimbledon. Nadal should have just had a word with the umpire. He distracted me."
However, the issue had begun long before their interaction at the net. It was at the start of the final set when Nadal had gone 3-1 up. A return from the two-time Wimbledon champion struck Sonego on his head and the latter then requested for the lights to be turned on.