Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic, ranked 100th, pulled off perhaps the biggest upset in the past decade of men’s tennis, blasting his way to a 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 victory over No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the second round of Wimbledon today.
Rosol had never won a single match on grass before this year, but with his fearless serve and forehand became the first man to knock out Nadal in the second round of a Grand Slam event since Gilles Muller ousted Nadal at Wimbledon 2005.
Nadal grew agitated as Rosol gained control of the match, complaining to the chair umpire about noises Rosol was making and at one point appearing to intentionally bump into the 26-year-old during a change of ends.
Rosol had set points in the first. He ended the titanic win emphatically, blasting three aces (all past Nadal’s forehand) in the final game to close the upset. He fell to his knees as the crowd under the closed Centre Court at the All England Club roof jumped to its feet.
