Rafael Nadal, a two-time champion at Wimbledon was stunned by Lukas Rosol the world’s No. 100 ranked player. On Thursday, in the second round of Wimbledon, Rosol defeated Nadal 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. The win by Rosol was one of the biggest in the 135 years of the tournament. Over the past five consecutive years, Nadal had played in the finals of Wimbledon and overall had played in the last four consecutive Grand Slam finals. Just 17 days ago, he won the French Open, the latest Grand Slam before Wimbledon.
This is the Czech’s first appearance at Wimbledon. In qualifying matches, he was a dismal 0-5 at the Club and had never won a match in the ATP on grass since he started in 2005. Overall, in his career he has just 19 wins. This year alone, Nadal already has 41. However, using a powerful serve and impressive returns, Rosol was able to defeat the Spaniard.
A tense moment took place during the third set of the match. Nadal was frustrated and complained about the way Rosol was bouncing around prior to Nadal’s serve. The complaints from Nadal were ignored by the chair umpire and that appeared to upset Nadal even more. When the two were in a changeover, it appeared as if Nadal purposely brushed into the side of Rosol.
The loss by Nadal was compared to other great upsets in the past at Wimbledon. In 2002, Pete Sampras was defeated by George Bastl, which is considered the biggest upset although it took place near the end of Sampras’ long career, where as Nadal currently is in his prime. This is the earliest exit Nadal has made from a Grand Slam since 2005.
