He was probably the main favourite heading into Wimbledon, but once again Rafa Nadal struggled to find his game on grass, losing in his opening match against Belgian Steve Darcis. Although he was hoping to revenge last year's stunning defeat to cold-blooded Lukas Rosol, Nadal could not cope with his aggressive opponent, losing 6-7,6-7,4-6. This was his maiden first round Grand Slam exit.
The defeat was such a shock as the Spaniard played sensational this year, reaching the final of every tournament he entered since returning from a lengthy injury time-off in March. He even won the last four tournaments he played, including a record-breaking eight French Open crown just a few weeks ago.
The loss re-ignited the discussion about Rafa's knee problem. Is he fully healed? Will his body hold on hard-courts? Can he sustain the intensity his tennis requires for a longer period of time? For the last few seasons, he was really successful only on his beloved clay, a surface where he can probably still beat anyone even if he is not 100% healthy. He proved that at Roland Garros where he didn't play his best but still managed to successfully defend his title.
It remains to be seen how the rest of the season will go for the Spaniard. He already achieved his goal, winning in Paris, but he is surely hoping to get that season ending No.1 ranking back from Djokovic. Now I am not a Nadal fan, but it will be interesting to find out if this setback will affect his confidence going into the North American hard-court season. Many are expecting him to take a longer break to heal properly, so let's see what the future holds.
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| Belgian Steve Darcis played the greatest match of his career, stunning Rafael Nadal 7-6,7-6,6-4 in the first round of Wimbledon. |
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| For the second year in a row, reigning French Open champion was stunned in the early rounds of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club. |
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