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Breaking Down Rafael Nadal’s Grass Court Struggles in Wake of Wimbledon Upset
Published: June 24, 2013
Two of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history have come in the last two years. Both of them were over Rafael Nadal.
Last year, the big-hitting but erratic Lukas Rosol took out Nadal in five sets in the second round. It was a phenomenal roller-coaster of a match with moments of greatness from both men. The fifth set was chill-inducing tennis from start to finish.
This year was different. Nadal lost in straight sets to Steve Darcis, a 29-year-old Belgian player ranked No. 135 in the world. Nadal didn't look much like himself at all.
The man of the hour, Darcis only has two main-draw wins on the ATP World Tour this year. His best win of the year before Monday was over No. 35 Lukas Rosol in a clay-court Challenger.
Darcis is not a nobody. He beat Tomas Berdych last year at the Olympics, which were also played at Wimbledon. He has two career ATP titles, one on indoor hard courts in Memphis and one on clay in Amersfoort. He has a respectable career-high ranking of No. 44. Darcis played brilliant tennis today and should be given full credit for seizing his chances.
But he is not supposed to be able to beat Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon.
Nadal has a 50-12 record on grass courts. He has three grass court titles, two of them at Wimbledon. He has made the Wimbledon final five times. He has beaten Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray at Wimbledon. Wimbledon has been by far his best slam outside of Roland Garros, which is incredible considering the tournaments are only two weeks apart.
However, the last two years, Nadal has only won two matches on grass, with one coming at Wimbledon.
Last year, after his shocking loss to Rosol, Nadal took seven months off of the tennis tour to rehab his troubled left knee. Since coming back on tour in February, he has been on a tear. He's won six titles on clay and one on ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis
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