Wimbledon: Rafael Nadal upset by 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol in 2nd round

Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts during his Gentlemen's Singles second round match against Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic on day four of the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on June 28, 2012 in London, England. / Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images

(AP) WIMBLEDON, England - Rafael Nadal made his earliest Grand Slam exit since 2005 when he was overpowered Thursday by big-serving Lukas Rosol 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the second round at Wimbledon.

Rosol, a 26-year-old Czech ranked No. 100, earned the biggest win of his career playing in Wimbledon's main draw for the first time. He lost each of the past five years in the first round of qualifying.

As the match stretched beyond dusk, the conclusion came with the retractable roof closed for the final set on Centre Court. The upset on tennis' biggest stage was no fluke: Rosol served brilliantly and repeatedly hit aggressive groundstrokes, while Nadal found himself pinned deep and on the defensive.

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Wimbledon 2012

Nadal saved three set points to win the opening set, but his demeanor grew glum as Rosol overtook him. After falling behind in the third set, Nadal grumbled to the chair umpire during a changeover, apparently irritated by Rosol's movements as he awaited serves.

Two games later, Nadal bumped into Rosol - and didn't acknowledge the contact - as they walked to their chairs for a break.

Rosol exhaled before hitting his final shot, which was his 22nd ace. He fell to his knees, arms up, then collapsed face down on the grass. He then rose and shook hands at the net with a frowning Nadal.

Rosol became the lowest-ranked player to defeat Nadal in a major tournament. The 6-foot-5, 178-pound Czech lost only 16 points on his first serve, returned well and won 22 of 28 points at the net.

In short, it was a complete performance that had spectators wondering why they'd never heard of him before. Nadal lost despite committing only 16 unforced errors in 276 points.

The Spaniard had reached the final in the past five Grand Slam tournaments, and had played in the final of his past five Wimbledons.

After Nadal broke twice in the fourth set to even the match, gathering darkness made lights necessary for the final set, and tournament officials suspended play for 45 minutes so the roof could be closed. Nadal was clearly unhappy that the delay interrupted his momentum, shaking his head and frowning when advised of the situation by an official.

Serving to start the final set, Nadal shanked a groundstroke on the first point and was broken when he failed to put away an overhead. Rosol easily held from there, winning his final 13 service points, seven with aces.

Nadal won a record seventh French Open championship this month and was bidding for his third title at Wimbledon, where he was runner-up last year to Novak Djokovic.

It was a good day for Americans - Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and No. 126-ranked Brian Baker advanced, as did No. 28-seeded Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko.

Sharapova, Serena Williams win at Wimbledon

Maria Sharapova's old serving problems resurfaced, costing her the second set before she recovered to beat dangerous Tsvetana Pironkova, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (3), 6-0. The Court 1 match took two days and ended three minutes after Williams concluded her victory on Centre Court, beating qualifier Melinda Czink 6-1, 6-4.

The No. 1-ranked Sharapova saved five set points in the first set and led the second set 3-1 when play was halted Wednesday because of darkness. She lost the first two games when the match resumed, and double-faulted on her first three service points in the tiebreaker.

"It felt like two matches in a way," Sharapova said. "Today I wanted to start off really well because I knew I was up a break. Didn't go according to plan. Really served sloppy."

[MagnaCartaUK]

I've been watching Wimbledon for about 40 years now. The first Men's singles final I watched was Stan Smith's victory over Ilie Nastase, alas I was too young to remember the great Rod Laver. The defeat of Nadal ranks alongside the greatest I can remember, but it's always good to see 'different faces', and also that one can be guaranteed a 'surprise package' most years. Whether Rosol proves to be that, or it's just another one-off win remains to be seen, but if the man has a decent serve, has a decent grass game, and has the fitness to match then who knows. The women's event is even more open this year. Good to have some of your ex-pros working with the B.B.C. McEnroe does usually anyway, as does Tracy Austin, but I still miss Pam Shriver's expert eye - a great many do. Still Lyndsey Davenport's involved, and Peter Fleming too I'm told, so we'll be well catered for. Nice to Wimbledon covered - I didn't think it was too much in the States.

[MagnaCartaUK]

'WakeUpPeople001', sorry for replying late, and hope you see this. You may be interested in some places to further your story - if you haven't already tried. Firstly the B.B.C. .. Put in a search for; B.B.C. News.: Have Your Say.: Have You Got A Good Story. ... On the right of the page there's a link entitles 'Send us your videos, pictures and stories'. Scroll down that page and there you will find a form to fill in, and a space to write and submit your story to the B.B.C. They may contact you, but I'm not sure of the procedure. Also, it may be worth contacting the Guardian 'online' to see if they have similar access. Another site to visit is 'Fair Trials International'. I think they have a process where you could contact them too. Good luck.

[WakeUpPeople001]

Temporary joy for Czechs, who are undergoing yet another scandal in their government--the completely inexplicable firing on Wednesday of their Justice Minister.

(Well, there is an explanation--the Justice Minister wanted to install a very tough person as Chief Prosecutor of Prague to start cleaning up corruption in the Czech government....)

[MagnaCartaUK]

Expand on this, many including me have heard nothing, ... and only 6 months after Vaclav Havel's death. Such things should be aired in public.

[WakeUpPeople001]

MagnaCartaUK, thanks for your interest.

1. (Former) Justice Minister is named "Jiri Pospisil". According to my wife, he was the only member of the cabinet who is not an ex-Communist (because he's too young).

2. In a recent poll, 91% of people do not agree with his firing. Only 10% of people trust the Czech government.

3. Another (former) minister of this government who got crucified was "Vit Barta" (Transportation Minister). As an experienced business person, he was doing an EXCELLENT job of cleaning up corruption in government construction contracts. Stepped on some toes.

Got arrested on trumped-up charges. He supposedly gave his personal money to members of his political party to cover the difference of their reduced government allowances. The court found him guilty because "he should have given his personal money to all political parties equally". I kid you not. He got probation. Forced to resign as Transportation Minister.

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You're right. Such stories do not appear in the international news. It's part of creating the "preferred" international image. Based on my experience, CNN is the worst offender.