Lukas Rosol ends his dream run at the Wimbledon Championships – Tennis News
Wimbledon was badly shook by a stunning performance from the 100th ranked Czech contender, Lukas Rosol, who registered the biggest upset of the tournament after defeating the world number two, Rafael Nadal of Spain, in the second round.
No one expected the second seeded King of Clay to fall out of the tournament draw so cheaply, especially at the hands of a rival ranked 97 places below him. Nadal came to London after his record seventh triumph at the Roland Garros French Open but his game play didn’t worked that well on the grass courts of the All England Tennis and Croquet Club.
It was a five-set thriller which ended with the final score line of 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in favour of the Czech underdog, driving second seeded Nadal out of the star-studded mega event. Rosol’s eye-startling performance was appreciated by everyone and it was seen as the rise of a new champion. After overcoming the world number two, Rosol was expected to register some more stunning victories in the Grand Slam tournament but his dream run couldn’t last longer.
The 26-year-old Czech was brutally manhandled by the German tennis ace, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in the third round brawl last week, suffering a straight sets defeat at 2-6, 3-6, 6-7(6). It was even heartbreaking for the Spanish tennis fans, as it proved that Rosol’s victory over Nadal was a mere fluke. Albeit Rosol couldn’t last longer in the tournament, his victory over the Spanish number one will be remembered for a long time. Nadal will also learn some new lessons from his defeat and then it will certainly help him make an impact at the Olympic Games.
Greg Rusedski wrote in the Guardian: "I'm not too worried about Nadal, because mentally he's an absolute animal. Everyone was questioning how he'd come back after losing out to Djokovic in that six-hour Australian Open final, and he went on to claim every clay-court title apart from Madrid."
"Every time you doubt him, especially with the injury problems he's had, he seems to bounce back stronger," he added, "He'll get himself focused for the Olympics on the grass courts at Wimbledon, and I'm sure he's going to want to make up for it at the Games and then the US Open."
No doubt Nadal is a true champion and will take his revenge very soon, most probably at the coveted Olympic Games. His second round loss made a new opening for other tennis players but unfortunately Rosol couldn’t cash in the huge opportunity he created himself.
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