Well this sucks. Rafael Nadal lost in the second round to Dustin Brown at Wimbledon. Brown was a qualifier in this tournament and the highest ranking he has achieved so far is #78. However, he has the game to trouble Nadal, with his big serve and strong forehand. Nadal hasn't been playing well this year and against Brown, he couldn't get his rhythm, mainly also because his opponent was playing incredibly tennis. Brown's level of play in their second round match kept Nadal off-balance and preventing the former #1 from finding his rhythm. As such, Brown sent Nadal packing with a score of 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
This is now the fourth year in a row that Rafa has lost early at Wimbledon:
2012: Nadal loses to Lukas Rosol in Round 2, 7-6 (11-9), 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6.
2013: Nadal loses to Steve Darcis in Round 1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (8-10), 4-6.
2014: Nadal loses to Nick Kyrgios, 6-7, 7-5, 6-7, 3-6.
2015: Nadal loses to Dustin Brown, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.
Such a shame because Nadal won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and again in 2010, and he reached the final on three other occasions (2006, 2007, and 2011). Each of his losses in the last four years have been to low-ranked players who seem to have played one of their best matches ever when they met Nadal. This is definitely proving to be Rafa's worst tennis year in more than a decade. The only upside to this is that he has practically no points to defend in the remainder of the year so hopefully he can play with no pressure and find some of his top form again.
This is now the fourth year in a row that Rafa has lost early at Wimbledon:
2012: Nadal loses to Lukas Rosol in Round 2, 7-6 (11-9), 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6.
2013: Nadal loses to Steve Darcis in Round 1, 6-7 (4-7), 6-7 (8-10), 4-6.
2014: Nadal loses to Nick Kyrgios, 6-7, 7-5, 6-7, 3-6.
2015: Nadal loses to Dustin Brown, 5-7, 6-3, 4-6, 4-6.
Such a shame because Nadal won Wimbledon twice, in 2008 and again in 2010, and he reached the final on three other occasions (2006, 2007, and 2011). Each of his losses in the last four years have been to low-ranked players who seem to have played one of their best matches ever when they met Nadal. This is definitely proving to be Rafa's worst tennis year in more than a decade. The only upside to this is that he has practically no points to defend in the remainder of the year so hopefully he can play with no pressure and find some of his top form again.
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