Cabeza del Demonio
Professional
The day Rosol sent shockwaves throughout the tennis world with the biggest upset in the Championships' history.
Nadal was looking to reach his 6th straight Wimbledon final and avenge his 2011 loss to Djokovic, and the World No.100 seemed just another easy early-round opponent in that quest. But as soon as the match started, Rosol made it abundantly clear that he was here to fight. He blasted down aces and redlined his ground game with flat, hard rockets off both wings to go up 2 sets to 1 against a sluggish Nadal. Finally in the 4th set, the champion seemed to regain his form and forced a deciding set under the lights on Centre Court.
Nadal was no stranger to battles like these - he had faced down many an inspired underdog over the years, perfecting the art of breaking the opponent's spirit. But just as order seemed to be restored, Rosol started swinging away at full strength, crashing through Nadal's defenses to break serve. The stunned commentators kept expecting him - at some point - to come back down to Earth, but the unseeded Czech continued to redline his shots at mach speed to the crowd's delight. He showed no sign of fear serving out the match, capping off a flawless last game with an ace to send the Matador of Mallorca packing, 6-7(9) 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4.
It was an upset absolutely no one could've seen coming, and one that changed the course of tennis history itself. Nadal would not be seen playing again for the next 7 months due to a knee injury he had been dealing with throughout the match, and his grass court game had been irreparably dented. It would be 2018 before he reached another semifinal at Wimbledon.
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Enjoy!
Nadal was looking to reach his 6th straight Wimbledon final and avenge his 2011 loss to Djokovic, and the World No.100 seemed just another easy early-round opponent in that quest. But as soon as the match started, Rosol made it abundantly clear that he was here to fight. He blasted down aces and redlined his ground game with flat, hard rockets off both wings to go up 2 sets to 1 against a sluggish Nadal. Finally in the 4th set, the champion seemed to regain his form and forced a deciding set under the lights on Centre Court.
Nadal was no stranger to battles like these - he had faced down many an inspired underdog over the years, perfecting the art of breaking the opponent's spirit. But just as order seemed to be restored, Rosol started swinging away at full strength, crashing through Nadal's defenses to break serve. The stunned commentators kept expecting him - at some point - to come back down to Earth, but the unseeded Czech continued to redline his shots at mach speed to the crowd's delight. He showed no sign of fear serving out the match, capping off a flawless last game with an ace to send the Matador of Mallorca packing, 6-7(9) 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4.
It was an upset absolutely no one could've seen coming, and one that changed the course of tennis history itself. Nadal would not be seen playing again for the next 7 months due to a knee injury he had been dealing with throughout the match, and his grass court game had been irreparably dented. It would be 2018 before he reached another semifinal at Wimbledon.
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Enjoy!
