Wimbledon, England — It was Lukas Rosol and not Rafael Nadal who looked like a two-time Wimbledon champion used to pummeling opponents into submission on tennis’ biggest stage.
It was Rosol, and not Nadal, who sprinted to and from his chair during changeovers like he had a never-ending supply of energy, pumped his fist and shouted to his entourage in the player’s box. And it was the 100th-ranked, little-known Czech player making his first Wimbledon appearance — and not the 11-time Grand Slam winner — who got better and stronger as the second-round match on Centre Court progressed into the night.
He hit ace after ace to complete one of the biggest upsets tennis has seen in years.
As surprising as Rosol’s five-set victory over Nadal was, the manner in which he completed it Thursday was perhaps equally stunning.
He wasn’t the only one who struggled to believe what they were seeing.
Rosol, who had lost in qualifying for Wimbledon in each of the last five years, simply outclassed Nadal with his powerful serving and booming ground strokes.
He hit cross-court backhand winners that measured 99 mph, he stepped up to whip scorching forehand returns, and he served so well that Nadal hardly tried to get to them by the final game. The last one he hit was his 22nd, and it wrapped up a 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory that no one had seen coming.
Least of all Rosol himself.
Miracle
“I’m not just surprised; it’s like a miracle for me,” he said. “Like just some B team in Czech Republic can beat Real Madrid (in) soccer.”
But Rosol fully earned the win, bouncing back from wasting three set points in the first set to win the next two. After Nadal leveled the match in the fourth, organizers then decided to slide the retractable roof out over Centre Court to allow the match to finish under the lights. That forced a 45-minute break that had Nadal agitated, but seemingly just made Rosol stronger.
He came out and broke Nadal in the first game, and never gave the Spaniard a chance to get back into the match.
Testy Nadal
Nadal had previously been upset about Rosol’s behavior as he was preparing to return the Spaniard’s serve, and complained about it to the chair umpire during one changeover in the third set. Two games later, Nadal bumped into Rosol — and didn’t acknowledge the contact — as they walked to their chairs for a break.
Rosol said he thought Nadal was simply trying to mess up his concentration.
Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man in 17 years to reach the third round of Wimbledon after beating Florent Serra of France 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 and will next play Juan Martin del Potro, who beat another Japanese player in Go Soeda.
The last Japanese man to reach the last 32 at Wimbledon was Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995.
Defending champion Petra Kvitova advanced to the third round by beating Elena Baltacha of Britain 6-0, 6-4. AP