World number five Rafael Nadal would rather not remember that last year he was eliminated in the second round of the Wimbledon Championships by Lukas Rosol and now, he has to add another one, a stunning first round loss at the All England Club this year, this time to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis of Belgium.
The 12-time Grand Slam champion entered this year’s Wimbledon as the heavy favorite. With nine final appearances out of nine tournaments he has participated so far since his comeback in February, pundits are already predicting that he will make to yet another final at an event that he’s already won twice before. However, this was not the case.
“It is tough losing in the first round. But the tour continues, life continues, and this is a sport of victories. It’s not a sport of losses,” said Nadal.
“Nobody remembers the losses. People remember the victories. And I don’t want to remember that loss,” he added.
This loss will somehow make it to a list of biggest upsets in tennis history.
“I tried to arrive as good as possible to this tournament, knowing that probably this year will be harder than ever, and it really was,” said Nadal.
“My season has been fantastic, much better than what I have thought five months ago. So I am happy about everything. I know that a loss [like] today can happen, and it happened,” he stressed.
With virtually no points to defend until the end of the season, Nadal still has a strong chance to end the year as world number one depending on how current top-ranked Novak Djokovic will fare in the rest of the season.
