Wimbledon 2012 Results: Rafael Nadal Upset By Lukas Rosol In 2nd Round
Day 4 at Wimbledon ended with a huge second-round upset as Lukas Rosol defeated No. 2 Rafael Nadal 6-7 (9-11), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
After dropping the first set in a tiebreak, Rosol played the match of his life. He won the second and third sets but it appeared Nadal reclaimed the momentum in the fourth. After a delay to close the roof, though, Rosol came out energized and hit some unbelievable shots to pull off the upset.
Nadal certainly started to get a little frustrated in the third set as it became clear he would have his hands full for the duration of the match. It was tense at times, with Nadal complaining that Rosol was making a “weird breathing noise,” according to ESPN’s John McEnroe. Rosol was waving his racket around as Nadal prepared to serve, but apparently the audible breathing noise is what led the Spaniard to complain to the chair umpire. In a bit of a testy moment, Nadal bumped into Rosol as he crossed paths with the underdog up a break in the third set.
Nadal charged back in the fourth set, breaking Rosol and emphatically pumping his fist along the baseline. He went on to even the match with a 6-2 fourth-set win before Wimbledon officials decided to close the roof. The process delayed the match for nearly 50 minutes, which stunted Nadal’s momentum.
With the roof closed and the lights on, Rosol came charging out of the delay to break Nadal in the first game of the fifth set. Rosol was hitting incredible winners down the line to immediately capture the crowd and take control of the final set. Nadal could not break Rosol’s amazing serve, and the Czech finished off the upset with a match-point ace.
This is the earliest exit for Nadal at a major since he lost in the second round at Wimbledon in 2005.
Lukas Rosol, ranked No. 100 in the world, is the lowest-ranked player to defeat Rafael Nadal at a Grand Slam tournament. Amazing.
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