Bigger Upset: Soderling, Rosol or Darcis?

[TeamOB]

Soderling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BUMRKvyYFA
Rosol: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWM0kF6XMZQ
Darcis: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WtNf2lbd4Q8

Which match was the bigger upset? I say Rosol. Here is a journeyman clay-court specialist who lost first round of qualies the last five years taking down a legend who reached the final the last five years. The most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. Rosol hadn't done crap before and hasn't done crap since (except for winning a tiny clay-court 250). Soderling was actually a respectable player who went on to reach 2 RG finals and get to the top 5. Darcis wasn't as big of a shock since it had already happened before. What do you guys say?

 

[Backspin1183]

The only man to beat Nadal at the French in 9 years!

 

[Backspin1183]

And Stakhovsky was a bigger upset than Rosol and Darcis IMO. Unless you're talking Nadal alone.

 

[TERRASTAR18]

rosol slightly over darsis. nadal at that time was only losing to djoker 2.0 so this loss was surprise but he was injured(he missed the olympics)and didn't finish the rest of the year. darcis i think benefitted from bad conditions where a lot of top players were upset or dropping due to injury(fed, serena, vika,maria,isner) so it made sense nadal lost.

 

[happyloman]

Rosol

soderling wasn't some no-name. and darcis was just deja vu all over again. not a shocker.

 

[TeamOB]

And Stakhovsky was a bigger upset than Rosol and Darcis IMO. Unless you're talking Nadal alone.

I disagree. Fed was in TERRIBLE form in mid-2013. Losing to a grass-court specialist at Wimbledon is not a big surprise when you are struggling like that.

 

[Backspin1183]

I disagree. Fed was in TERRIBLE form in mid-2013. Losing to a grass-court specialist at Wimbledon is not a big surprise when you are struggling like that.

Disagree. Fed won Halle and easily defeated his opponent in Rd1. Nobody expected him to lose in Rd2 of his most successful grand slam.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

And Stakhovsky was a bigger upset than Rosol and Darcis IMO. Unless you're talking Nadal alone.

Maybe Darcis, not Rosol. I remember how comprehensively Nadal beat up on Djokovic during the claycourt season in 2012. After that FO victory, many here were talking about how Nadal will recapture Wimbledon since he had shed his mental handicap against Djokovic and he ended up getting blown off the court by Rosol.

Federer's loss was a huge upset and certainly not as casual of a defeat as TeamOB said. He was the defending champion, won Halle, but he was coming with absolutely no steam whatsoever. He had taken some very heavy losses throughout the first 6 months of 2013. With Nadal, he was coming in with momentum in 2012.


Now, the king of all upsets was Soderling in 2009. That was the one match that completely caught me off guard.

 

[kishnabe]

Soderling as it was mind blowing. I though Nadal will never lose at RG(No matter how much I wanted him to lose).

Wimbledon losses made me smile with happiness but it has never been a surprise that Nadal is usually suspect the first week of Wimbledon.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Rosol

soderling wasn't some no-name. and darcis was just deja vu all over again. not a shocker.

Umm, you do know that Soderling had lost to Nadal 6-0 6-1 on clay a few weeks before that match? Not a shocker? Good lord, hindsight really is 20/20.

Federer, Djokovic, Puerta, Ferrer, Almagro, quality claycourters had tried ( multiple times with the exception of Puerta) to defeat Nadal at the French Open from 2005-2008 and all of them couldn't even manage to push Nadal to 5 sets. Then Soderling shows up on a damp day and drops 62 winners (30 more than Nadal) and gets it done in 4 sets. It most certainly was a shocker.

 

[Vensai]

Robin Soderling.

 

[TMF]

Sodering
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Rosol
Darcis


Nadal was not a lock to win Wimbledon in 2012/2013, but he was a lock to win the 2009 FO. The way he was cruising through the early rounds, many include myself have convinced that he has the title in the bag. No one, I mean no one give Soderling any chance against Nadal on clay.

 

[MichaelNadal]

Easily Soderling.

 

[vive le beau jeu !]

nice thread... feels like a candyshop.

 

[Magnus]

They were all a blast to watch, can't pick one. Soderling was the most dramatic and surprising because it was the FO.

 

[NatF]

And Stakhovsky was a bigger upset than Rosol and Darcis IMO. Unless you're talking Nadal alone.

Not with the year Federer was having it wasn't. In 2012 Nadal was coming off one of his most dominant clay court seasons ever and was considered the favorite.

 

[Deleted member 77403]

Soderling, this was probably the biggest upset ever in tennis. And the more Nadal adds to his clay legacy, the greater this accomplishment becomes.

But Rosol certainly stands in second place, since Nadal had been in the last five slam finals, and playing a final was just expected from him. And that last set was just Godly, no other way to describe it.

Darcis, takes third in this list.

 

[JRAJ1988]

Soderling came out of the blue, Nadal was seemingly on top of the world in the first half of 2009 after winning the Australian Open.

 

[MonkeyBoy]

Soderling. He had lost to Nadal on clay one and love a month prior.

 

[Steve0904]

Rosol

soderling wasn't some no-name. and darcis was just deja vu all over again. not a shocker.

Actually, he kind of was before that match. He wasn't a top 5 player in the least, being seeded 23.

 

[serengetisunset]

What is more difficult?
1. Beating Nadal on CLAY over 5 sets.
2. Beating Nadal on grass in the first week of Wimbedon, where he has been vulnerable in the past.

I think 1 is the answer. Rosol and Darcis did what others had come close to but failed to do in the past. Soderling did what no one ever came close to or even thought possible.

 

[tennis_pro]

I would put Soderling on par with Rosol, both times I couldn't believe that Nadal lost even days after.

Darcis would be up there but because the Rosol upset happened the year before, I was more in disbelief rather than shock as it was the case with the other 2.

 

[tennis_pro]

Soderling. He had lost to Nadal on clay one and love a month prior.

But on the other hand Nadal was pretty jaded before the French and actually lost a practice set against Simon if I remember correctly (even that was a surprise at the time).

However, Nadal was at peak form throughout the 2012 clay season and still got bumped out by a journeyman straight after that tournament. Even when he was close to losing some matches at Wimbledon in the first week of that tournament, he always found a way. Now here comes Rosol, the last man on earth you'd think who had a chance against Nadal (how many main draw matches has Rosol won in GS's at that point? Like 3?)

 

[stringertom]

No love for Stanimal FailBetterer? As vlbj said, no visit to the candy store would be complete without at least a visit to the Swiss BonBon aisle!

 

[Sid_Vicious]

But on the other hand Nadal was pretty jaded before the French and actually lost a practice set against Simon if I remember correctly (even that was a surprise at the time).

However, Nadal was at peak form throughout the 2012 clay season and still got bumped out by a journeyman straight after that tournament.Even when he was close to losing some matches at Wimbledon in the first week of that tournament, he always found a way. Now here comes Rosol, the last man on earth you'd think who had a chance against Nadal (how many main draw matches has Rosol won in GS's at that point? Like 3?)

Well, the difference was that Nadal was undefeated at RG.It's not like journeyman like Kendrick, Haase, Petzschner, and Youzhny (not a journeyman but whatever) ever had major leads on him at the FO like they did at Wimbledon. Nadal's one-sided beatdown at the hands of Djokovic in the 2011 final convinced everybody that he was no longer the best grasscourter in the world. Yes, it was shocking, but not anywhere near the magnitude that Soderling's upset was. Not only did Nadal not have issue with journeyman at RG, he had no issues with any player. Period. Federer and Djokovic had gotten mugged every single time they had played Nadal at RG up until that point. The moment Nadal crashed out, Federer and Djokovic started playing like they were paralyzed by the pressure as it was their golden opportunity. Djokovic completely collapsed while Federer barely escaped in tough matches.

And the upset is even more impressive looking back. Nadal lost to Darcis the very next year at Wimbledon and we now know that he can't play his best on grass anymore, but who has beaten Nadal at the FO since that time? No one. It took Djokovic 4 years and a losing effort to even push Nadal to 5 sets at RG and Federer still went down in 4 in 2011, an year in which Nadal played extremely lackluster tennis at RG.

 

[Mainad]

What is more difficult?
1. Beating Nadal on CLAY over 5 sets.
2. Beating Nadal on grass in the first week of Wimbedon, where he has been vulnerable in the past.

I think 1 is the answer. Rosol and Darcis did what others had come close to but failed to do in the past. Soderling did what no one ever came close to or even thought possible.

John Isner pushed Nadal to 5 sets in the 1st round of 2011 RG and Djokovic was 2 sets and a break up in a 5 set semi with Rafa at RG last year!

 

[happyloman]

Actually, he kind of was before that match. He wasn't a top 5 player in the least, being seeded 23.

yes you're right. I just looked up his wiki entry.


then I change my vote to soderling

 

[tistrapukcipeht]

You guys are nuts, Soderling was a top 10 and had beaten Rafa before, the other 2, yes, specially Darcis, that is the biggest upset in Nadal's career.

 

[TeamOB]

What is more difficult?
1. Beating Nadal on CLAY over 5 sets.
2. Beating Nadal on grass in the first week of Wimbedon, where he has been vulnerable in the past.

I think 1 is the answer. Rosol and Darcis did what others had come close to but failed to do in the past. Soderling did what no one ever came close to or even thought possible.

Soderling is also a much, much better player then Rosol. Soderling's upset was definitely a bigger achievement, but IMO it is evened out by the fact that Rosol is simply much worse. Rosol has a losing record on tour and lost first round of qualies at Wimbledon for 5 years in a row. In fact, before 2012, Rosol only won 1 total set at SW19!

 

[abmk]

Well, the difference was that Nadal was undefeated at RG.It's not like journeyman like Kendrick, Haase, Petzschner, and Youzhny (not a journeyman but whatever) ever had major leads on him at the FO like they did at Wimbledon. Nadal's one-sided beatdown at the hands of Djokovic in the 2011 final convinced everybody that he was no longer the best grasscourter in the world. Yes, it was shocking, but not anywhere near the magnitude that Soderling's upset was. Not only did Nadal not have issue with journeyman at RG, he had no issues with any player. Period. Federer and Djokovic had gotten mugged every single time they had played Nadal at RG up until that point. The moment Nadal crashed out, Federer and Djokovic started playing like they were paralyzed by the pressure as it was their golden opportunity. Djokovic completely collapsed while Federer barely escaped in tough matches.

And the upset is even more impressive looking back. Nadal lost to Darcis the very next year at Wimbledon and we now know that he can't play his best on grass anymore, but who has beaten Nadal at the FO since that time? No one. It took Djokovic 4 years and a losing effort to even push Nadal to 5 sets at RG and Federer still went down in 4 in 2011, an year in which Nadal played extremely lackluster tennis at RG.

Djokovic lost before nadal in 2009 RG. federer did play nervous in the haas match in 4R because the pressure got to him, but he was in some trouble in 2R vs acusaso before as well

 

[TMF]

John Isner pushed Nadal to 5 sets in the 1st round of 2011 RG and Djokovic was 2 sets and a break up in a 5 set semi with Rafa at RG last year!

Yes, but the Soderling upset was in 2009, two years before Isner gave Nadal a scare.

 

[smoledman]

Obviously Soderling defeating Nadal at the French is easily the biggest upset of all time. No Federer loss compares.

 

[rommil]

Whichever took him longest to come back.

 

[THE FIGHTER]

Disagree. Fed won Halle and easily defeated his opponent in Rd1. Nobody expected him to lose in Rd2 of his most successful grand slam.

fed has been on decline for some time prior to his early exit. An early exit at his second best major after winning the French for Nadal was pretty big. Then again, Soderling beating Nadal at the French was also big, despite Soderling being a much, much better player than Rosol and Darcis.

 

[Paul Murphy]

Darcis.
Soderling had all the weapons - he just had to put it together - he did.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

Djokovic lost before nadal in 2009 RG. federer did play nervous in the haas match in 4R because the pressure got to him, but he was in some trouble in 2R vs acusaso before as well

Ah, thanks for the history lesson.

Djokovic lost on May 30th, 2009 while Nadal went out on May 31th, 2009. Probably why I confused them.

I remember Federer saying that everywhere he went in Paris during that FO someone would tell him "you have to win it this year". Talk about pressure.

 

[The Dark Knight]

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[MonkeyBoy]

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So basically you're saying Nadal losing early in a slam in his prime is less of a shock than Federer losing early in a slam when having his worst season in a decade.

 

[The Dark Knight]

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So basically you're saying Nadal losing early in a slam in his prime is less of a shock than Federer losing early in a slam when having his worst season in a decade.

No I'm saying I couldn't even remember this guys name .

 

[The Dark Knight]

So soderling was the biggest upset....then Feds win was pretty hollow and he had a fluke FO win......

Barely a win on all surfaces.....not a real goat at all.

 

[Sid_Vicious]

No I'm saying I couldn't even remember this guys name .

Well, if you actually knew something about tennis other than Rafael Nadal's resume, his h2h records, and lots of other useless trivia, you wouldn't have any issues remembering his name as he is a more accomplished tennis player than either Darcis or Rosol.

 

[The Dark Knight]

So soderling was the biggest upset....then Feds win was pretty hollow and he had a fluke FO win......

Barely a win on all surfaces.....not a real goat at all.

I think my point is clear.....

By the way what's that guys name who beat Fed? Stockavsky or something ?

 

[THE FIGHTER]

No I'm saying I couldn't even remember this guys name .

First you start to forget people's names. Next, you forget about your date at the bingo hall. It's all downhill from here

 

[THE FIGHTER]

and then, you begin to have conversations with yourself.

 

[ricki]

Rosol. Nadal had diarrhea during match vs Soderling.

 

[jg153040]

Rosol and Darcis of course. Soderling is a good player. He has 2 RG finals and it was only the fourth round. I don't see a shame losing to Soderling in a fourth round.

Rosol and Darcis are journeymen and it was early in a major. And Rafa was in top form coming from a RG win.

 

[MonkeyBoy]

Rosol and Darcis of course. Soderling is a good player. He has 2 RG finals and it was only the fourth round. I don't see a shame losing to Soderling in a fourth round.

He was not a 2X FO finalist at the time they fought though. He wasn't even ranked in the top 20 and had never past the 3rd rd of a major.

 

[THE FIGHTER]

He was not a 2X FO finalist at the time they fought though. He wasn't even ranked in the top 20 and had never past the 3rd rd of a major.

same could be said for darcis and rosol. absolutely off the radar

 

[TheMusicLover]

Soderling, and it's not even close. At the time The Upset happened, Sod was no big name player at all, and even more, beating the Undefeated at RG - nobody saw it coming.

When considering Rosol and Darcis one should keep in mind that Nadal usually struggles quite a bit during the first week at Wimbledon. In the past he's already had very tough matches against nobo's like Kendrick, Haase, Petzschner et al. He could well have lost these matches just like he eventually lost to Rosol and Darcis.

 

[jg153040]

He was not a 2X FO finalist at the time they fought though. He wasn't even ranked in the top 20 and had never past the 3rd rd of a major.

But he was at his top form, which he proved by reaching a final and also next year.

He beat prime Fedal in 09/10, both were defending champs at the time, so his level of play was legit.

And you do know that rankings don't reflect FO form a lot. Sampras was nr.1 seed at RG. Wasn't Nadal nr.4 seed in 2013 at RG?

I don't see how we can even compare elite RG player like Soderling to mugs Rafa lost on grass twice early. Why it was so upsetting was, that Rafa was in form from winning RG both times and those guys were newbs.

I think Fed losing is the biggest upset in his career too. He said it himself. I mean he was the defending champ in 2013, lost to a total mug too.