Wimbledon 2012: Nadal crashes out in one of greatest upsets

Rafael Nadal crashed out of Wimbledon on Thursday as he lost an epic five-set clash to unsung tour journeyman Lukas Rosol.

The No.2 seed, seeking a unique third French Open-Wimbledon double, was the victim of one of SW19's great upsets as Rosol took the match 7-6, 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6 under the Centre Court roof in an incredible second round clash.

At 8.45pm with the skies darkening, Nadal levelled the match by winning the fourth set and the chair umpire decided the only way it could be completed was if the roof was shut. But by 10.02 the match had ended in the most remarkable fashion as Rosol held his nerve and his serve to pull off this huge shock.

Nadal, having finally gained some momentum after being largely on the defensive in the face of a fantastic performance from the world No.100, did not look at all happy to see the roof being closed.

Until then you could only admire the resilience of Nadal, who three times had slid and taken a tumble during their three hours of combat. There were moments earlier when he looked as if he might be on his way out, such was the sheer power and uninhibited ball striking of the 6ft 5in surprise package. Yet he soaked it all up to battle back on level terms before Rosol finished the job.

He looked as puzzled as anyone else to wonder where on earth this excellence had sprung from? This was Rosol's debut Wimbledon after trying unsuccessfully five times previously to qualify and he had only played his first Tour-level grass tournament at Queen's a fortnight ago, where he reached the third round.

All the signs pointed then to a man who has never won a Tour title ending up as a mere sparring partner for Nadal but, instead, for much of the contest, his exceptional performance had the former champ rocking on his heels.

In truth, Rosol had looked like a tower of trouble for the two-time champion from the moment he launched an unstoppable 127mph ace on the second point of the match. The sheer power of his hitting was evident for the first quarter of an hour but once he started struggling behind his second service and hooked a forehand wide in the fifth game to gift Nadal the break, it seemed odds-on the former champ would settle.

Wrong. Rosol roared back immediately as Nadal appeared so fazed by the Czech's huge looping forehand drives, unleashed after an extravagant wind-up, and whipped, flat double-fisted backhands that his own focus seemed to fluctuate.

At 6-5, Rosol even earned a set point only for Nadal to deliver an ace. He needed to save two more in a thrilling tiebreak as Rosol maintained his attack but, after saving two set points of his own, the man from Brno buried the simplest forehand putaway into the net to gift it 11-9.

To a Centre Court crowd including Pippa Middleton and Felicity Kendall, it felt like the natural order would now be resumed and the heart might disappear from a man who has never won a tour title.

Once again, Rosol confounded everyone, immediately breaking Nadal to love with a mix of huge hitting and a stroke of luck with a net cord. From there, Nadal simply could not cope with the ferocity of the serving and he was growing frustrated with himself as he took three tumbles, landing thrice fairly heavily on his left knee while in full chasing mode.

After Rosol had levelled the match, winning the second set 6-4, there was no let-up as the pattern of the game continued with Nadal having to pick tracer-like service returns off his feet at the baseline. Here was the aggressor in the unaccustomed position of being bullied. And Nadal did not like it. It is rare to see him so agitated as he was after being broken early in the third set.

He returned to his chair and complained to the umpire about Rosol's dancing on the baseline as he was waiting to receive serve. Yet the Czech did not appear to be doing anything wrong at all.

There was no love lost between them as they bumped into each other at one changeover but there appeared no chance of Rosol being intimidated. He just kept swinging freely like a champion prizefighter as Nadal could barely land a jab and it was almost as if the No?2 seed was waiting for Rosol to wake up and realise exactly where he was.Having lost the third set 6-4 and now two sets to one down, though, Nadal simply could not afford to be cowed any longer and played a supreme, attacking champion's game to break for 4-2 and then, with Rosol seeming a little frustrated for the first time as he complained about one of the tennis balls being too soft, Nadal levelled matters 6-2 to take the game into a compelling denouement.