LONDON — On the final point of the first set of his latest Wimbledon disappointment, Rafael Nadal swung his mighty, lefty forehand — and whiffed, accidentally whacking his right leg with his racket.
It was a painful, embarrassing mistake, symbolic of the sort of day this was.
During five trips to the All England Club from 2006-11, Nadal reached the final every time. In his most recent four appearances, though, Nadal has exited early against an unheralded, unaccomplished and, most importantly, unafraid opponent ranked 100th or worse. On Thursday, Nadal lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round to Dustin Brown, who needed to qualify just to enter the main draw.
“It’s not the end,” Nadal said. “(It’s) a sad moment for me … but life continues. My career, too.”
Toni Nadal, Rafael’s uncle and coach, summed up the Centre Court match this way: “He played really bad. Bad shots. Very bad with his forehand.”
All true. But give credit to Brown and his varied, risky and entertaining brand of tennis, a mix of old-school serve-and-volleying, drop shots, drop volleys and go-for-it returns.
“I had nothing to lose. If I lose 6-1, 6-2, 6-3, everyone says ‘Bravo, Rafa,'” Brown said.
Brown is ranked 102nd, entered Thursday with a 6-11 record in 2015 and has never been past the third round at a major.
Nadal, meanwhile, is a former No. 1 and the owner of 14 major titles, tied with Pete Sampras for second-most behind Roger Federer’s 17.
Federer joined Andy Murray and Petra Kvitova as past Wimbledon champions picking up straightforward, straight-set victories Thursday.
After his run of five consecutive French Open titles ended last month with a quarterfinal loss to Novak Djokovic, Nadal’s ranking dropped to 10th, his worst in 10 years.
Now he has failed to win any of his past four major tournaments, not even reaching the semifinals. It’s the 29-year-old Spaniard’s longest drought since the first five Slams of his career.
“I don’t know if I will be back to (that) level,” Nadal acknowledged.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@SportsCenter
