By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
One year after falling a five-set stunner against No. 100 ranked Lukas Rosol in the third round of Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal crashed out of Wimbledon in an even more dramatic fashion.
The two-time champion, with a tour-best 43-2 record and seven titles won so far this year, was straight-setted out of Wimbledon by No. 135 ranked Steve Darcis in the opening round 76 (4) 76 (8) 64
The loss marked the first time in the 10-year career of Nadal that he was defeated in the opening round of a major tournament in 34 previous first round matches.
“That is sport” said Nadal, simply, to answer for his staggering loss.
After last year’s upset loss to Rosol, described as one of the biggest upsets in the history of tennis, Nadal did not play for the remainder of the year due to troubles with his knee, not returning until February of this year. Nadal did not want to provide any excuses for the loss, saying in his post-match press conference “I don’t want to talk about my knee this afternoon…” and that he was confident that he would be ready for his next tournament, likely in Canada in August.
The biggest immediate beneficiary of the Nadal upset is No. 3 seed Roger Federer who was drawn in the quarterfinals to face Nadal, who was controversially seeded No. 5, despite his incredible record so far this year, not factoring in the seven months he missed due to injury. Andy Murray, seeded No. 2, is also placed in the Federer-Nadal half of the draw, dubbed by some with the soccer term “the group of death.”
The Belgian Darcis, age 29 and ranked as high as No. 44, achieved another major upset last year in the first round of the Olympics Games at Wimbledon when he upset Tomas Berdych.
The upset comes 10 years to the day of another stunning first round upset when Lleyton Hewitt became only the second defending men’s singles champion at Wimbledon to lose in the first round as six-foot-10 Croatian qualifier Ivo Karlovic, ranked No. 203, dismisses Hewitt 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Hewitt joined 1966 Wimbledon champion Manuel Santana, defeated in the first round ofWimbledonin 1967 by Charlie Pasarell, as the only defending champions to be dismissed in the first round.
