Biggest upsets of 2012 – Lukas Rosol ousts Rafael Nadal – Wimbledon Championships
Right-hander Czech professional, Lucks Rosol, secured probably the greatest upset in the history of competitive tennis against former world number one, Rafael Nadal.
The world number 73, Rosol, consolidated his win, 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on June 28, 2012 in the second round of the green grass courts of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.
In a post match interview, Rosol told the media, “Today I was somewhere else and I'm really happy for this. Still, I cannot find the words. I still can't believe it. It's like a dream for me. Before the last game, I was not sure if I will be shaking or not
because it was the first time against Rafa and the first time also in Wimbledon Centre Court. You never know what to expect, so it was not easy, and I survived. This year, I changed and I played already at Queen's and Eastbourne, a couple more weeks. If I
play on grass more, I think I can get better.”
The courts of Wimbledon are known for its history of entertaining its viewers with the most shocking upset. Back in 1987, the Peter Doohan secured his win against the two times defending champion, Boris Becker. In the year 2002, the underdog, George Bastl
gave the most shocking loss to the seven time defending champion, Pete Sampras. In the next year, Lleyton Hewitt at the hands of the Ivo Karlovic suffered a similar surprise.
The Czech professional was competing at the courts of Wimbledon for the first time in his career. He progressed with a simple game plane and fought with extreme optimism. He secured his lead in the initial three games and encountered the might of the Spaniard.
26-year-old, Nadal, gradually picked the pace in the fourth game. Nonetheless, after the break, Rosol secured the lead and skilfully handled the pressure. He manifested a proactive game plan, sweeping the fences with his remarkable serves and volley points.
The 27-year-old Czech had never won any single tournament at the grass courts. Initially, it was a sure shot win for the Spaniard but he was unable to battle forward as his knee was plague with injury. After the Wimbledon Championship, Nadal was unable to
participate in any ATP tournament.
The left-hander is still not fit for his new campaign of 2013. Previously, he was unable to carry his country flag at the London 2012 Olympics and could not even defend his gold medal from Beijing Olympic in the year 2008.
The world number four, Nadal, had a similar initial serve as his rival of 67 percent. He fired across 19 aces and double faulted twice. He was only able to convert 73 of 93 first and 29 of 46 second serve points. In his comparison, Rosol dominated 22 aces
with 29 unforced errors. He confidently pocketed away 76 of 92 first and 26 of 45 second serve points in retaliation.
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