Chasing a drop shot in the second set, Rafael Nadal stumbled and tumbled into the net as his racket went flying to the sideline.

It just wasn't his day. Nadal rose slowly to cheers from the Wimbledon crowd but found himself off balance the rest of the way and made his earliest Grand Slam exit since 2005.

Nadal was overpowered in the second round Thursday by Lukas Rosol, a Czech ranked No. 100, 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.



Among those shocked by the result was Rosol.


Nadal saved three set points to win the opening set, but his demeanor grew glum as Rosol overtook him. After falling behind in the third set, Nadal grumbled to the chair umpire during a changeover, apparently irritated by Rosol's movements as he awaited serves.

"I was concentrating on myself," Rosol said. "I don't know what he was complaining about."

Two games later, Nadal bumped into Rosol — and didn't acknowledge the contact — as they walked to their chairs for a break.

Rosol exhaled before hitting his final shot, which was his 22nd ace. He fell to his knees, arms up, then collapsed face down on the famous grass. He then rose and shook hands at the net with a frowning Nadal.


Rosol became the lowest-ranked player to defeat Nadal in a major tournament. The 6-foot-5, 178-pound Czech lost only 16 points on his first serve, cracked his returns into the corners and won 22 of 28 points at the net.

In short, it was a complete performance that had spectators wondering why they'd never heard of him before. Nadal lost despite committing only 16 unforced errors in 276 points.

The Spaniard had reached the final in the past five Grand Slam tournaments, and had played in the final of his past five Wimbledons.

It was a good day for Americans — Serena Williams, Andy Roddick, Mardy Fish and No. 126-ranked Brian Baker advanced, as did No. 28-seeded Christina McHale and Varvara Lepchenko.







Nadal was clearly unhappy that the delay interrupted his momentum, shaking his head and frowning when advised of the situation by an official.

