Rafael Nadal’s Grass-Court Mojo Still Missing After 4th-Round Wimbledon Shocker

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at Internationaled.org

Published: July 1, 2014

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Rafael Nadal used to be almost as reliable at Wimbledon as he is at the French Open. The two-time Wimbledon champion once made five straight Wimbledon finals in six years, only skipping 2009 when he withdrew from the tournament. 

Right now, that feels like a lifetime ago.

Nadal lost before the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the third straight year on Tuesday, falling to 19-year-old Aussie Nick Kyrgios, ranked No. 144, 7-6, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3.

Since 2012, the 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon champion is merely 5-5 on grass courts. In addition to three trips to Wimbledon, that tally includes two trips to the Wimbledon tune-up in Halle, where he has never won back-to-back matches.

The Spaniard hasn't exactly been losing to titans of the game, either. His three most recent losses at Wimbledon have come to players with an average ranking of 126. That's pretty shocking for the world No. 1. 

After this loss, Nadal did his best to keep perspective.



Considering Nadal lost in the second round to No. 100 Lukas Rosol two years ago and in the first round to No. 135 Steve Darcis last year, media and fans seemed convinced that Nadal would be fine this year if he only made it past the first week.

After all, every time Nadal had made it past the third round at the Championships, he'd found himself in the final.

But Kyrgios destroyed that myth on Tuesday, with a breakthrough performance that will turn the Australian wild card into one of the hottest prospects on the ATP tour.



In his Wimbledon debut, Kyrgios was already playing on borrowed time heading into this fourth-round encounter. He saved nine match points in his second-round battle against No. 13 Richard Gasquet, then beat fellow up-and-comer Jiri Vesely in four sets in the third round.

Though he was the big underdog, Kyrgios clearly went out on court against Nadal feeling like he co...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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