A disconsolate and shell-shocked Rafael Nadal refused to blame injury after crashing out of Wimbledon in the first round to a 1500-1 outsider in straight sets.
The Spaniard, who two weeks ago was celebrating his return from a severe knee injury by winning his 12th grand slam title at Roland Garros, was beaten 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 by the Belgian Steve Darcis, a player ranked 130 places below him.
It was the first time in his career that Nadal had ever been defeated in the first round of a grand slam. Before Monday, he was the only player to have held a No1 ranking who could claim such a record. Nadal refused to be drawn on whether he was affected by injury, but appeared unwilling to slide on his knee and during the final set gingerly tested it several times and appeared to be limping.
"It is not the right day [to talk about it]. I tried my best out there in every moment. The opponent played well, I had my chances. I didn't make it," he said. "The only thing that I can say today is to congratulate Steve Darcis. He played a fantastic match. Everything that I will say today about my knee is an excuse, and I don't like to put [forward] any excuse when I'm losing a match like I lost today. He deserves not one excuse."
Nadal, seeded No5 here following his injury problems and scheduled to meet Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, was out for seven months after losing at Wimbledon last year in the second round. So much of the speculation before this year's Wimbledon had centred on which side of the draw Nadal would find himself in (Andy Murray's) and what that meant for the chances of Murray. All that talk was rendered redundant at the racket of Darcis, who had never beaten a top-five player in three previous attempts but gave a masterclass in grass court tennis that left Nadal bemused and broken.
Yet this was not the Nadal that a disbelieving No1 Court crowd had become used to down the years at Wimbledon and Darcis acknowledged as much. Time and again he found the net with the open court gaping and his ground strokes, normally so consistently powerful, were too often wayward.
Nadal rebutted suggestions that his schedule was overloaded with too much clay-court tennis in the spring and insisted he did not prioritise the French Open over other tournaments. "The calendar was, for me, perfect – winning seven tournaments of the nine and playing two finals. I know that losing can happen, and it happened. That's all."
But he did admit that "grass is a difficult surface for the way I need to play to play well here", adding that he has to "move and play in a lower position than the rest of the surfaces".
During the final set Nadal repeatedly found the net as Darcis found the confidence to serve out the match, having broken his opponent's serve in the very first game of the set.
None of which should detract from a bravura performance from Darcis, who had lost in the first round in 12 of his 18 previous grand slam appearances and had hitherto enjoyed most success on the second-rung Challenger circuit.
Prior to Monday, he said his best victory was against Thomas Berdych in the first round of the Olympics, also at Wimbledon, and the only other time he has beaten a player in the top 10. Asked what his first thought was when he saw he'd been drawn against Nadal, he said, simply: "Shit".
But Darcis, who had only ever won once at Wimbledon before, said: "I fought from the beginning to the end and played unbelievable tennis You play tennis to play big matches, in a big stadium against unbelievable players. I enjoyed it from the first point to the end."
For the 29-year-old nicknamed Shark, it was reward for a career spent battling against the tide: "I think I had many injuries, and that's why it was tough for me sometimes I had a good ranking sometimes. Then I had big problems, so I had to stop and come back all the time. It takes you a lot of energy. But I'm really motivated and I'm feeling really good for the last few months."
A deflated Nadal said: "Two weeks ago I was in a fantastic situation, winning a fantastic tournament. Two weeks later I lost here in the first round. That's the positive and the negative thing about this sport."
The Spaniard, who two weeks ago was celebrating his return from a severe knee injury by winning his 12th grand slam title at Roland Garros, was beaten 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 by the Belgian Steve Darcis, a player ranked 130 places below him.
It was the first time in his career that Nadal had ever been defeated in the first round of a grand slam. Before Monday, he was the only player to have held a No1 ranking who could claim such a record. Nadal refused to be drawn on whether he was affected by injury, but appeared unwilling to slide on his knee and during the final set gingerly tested it several times and appeared to be limping.
"It is not the right day [to talk about it]. I tried my best out there in every moment. The opponent played well, I had my chances. I didn't make it," he said. "The only thing that I can say today is to congratulate Steve Darcis. He played a fantastic match. Everything that I will say today about my knee is an excuse, and I don't like to put [forward] any excuse when I'm losing a match like I lost today. He deserves not one excuse."
Nadal, seeded No5 here following his injury problems and scheduled to meet Roger Federer in the quarter-finals, was out for seven months after losing at Wimbledon last year in the second round. So much of the speculation before this year's Wimbledon had centred on which side of the draw Nadal would find himself in (Andy Murray's) and what that meant for the chances of Murray. All that talk was rendered redundant at the racket of Darcis, who had never beaten a top-five player in three previous attempts but gave a masterclass in grass court tennis that left Nadal bemused and broken.
Yet this was not the Nadal that a disbelieving No1 Court crowd had become used to down the years at Wimbledon and Darcis acknowledged as much. Time and again he found the net with the open court gaping and his ground strokes, normally so consistently powerful, were too often wayward.
Nadal rebutted suggestions that his schedule was overloaded with too much clay-court tennis in the spring and insisted he did not prioritise the French Open over other tournaments. "The calendar was, for me, perfect – winning seven tournaments of the nine and playing two finals. I know that losing can happen, and it happened. That's all."
But he did admit that "grass is a difficult surface for the way I need to play to play well here", adding that he has to "move and play in a lower position than the rest of the surfaces".
During the final set Nadal repeatedly found the net as Darcis found the confidence to serve out the match, having broken his opponent's serve in the very first game of the set.
None of which should detract from a bravura performance from Darcis, who had lost in the first round in 12 of his 18 previous grand slam appearances and had hitherto enjoyed most success on the second-rung Challenger circuit.
Prior to Monday, he said his best victory was against Thomas Berdych in the first round of the Olympics, also at Wimbledon, and the only other time he has beaten a player in the top 10. Asked what his first thought was when he saw he'd been drawn against Nadal, he said, simply: "Shit".
But Darcis, who had only ever won once at Wimbledon before, said: "I fought from the beginning to the end and played unbelievable tennis You play tennis to play big matches, in a big stadium against unbelievable players. I enjoyed it from the first point to the end."
For the 29-year-old nicknamed Shark, it was reward for a career spent battling against the tide: "I think I had many injuries, and that's why it was tough for me sometimes I had a good ranking sometimes. Then I had big problems, so I had to stop and come back all the time. It takes you a lot of energy. But I'm really motivated and I'm feeling really good for the last few months."
A deflated Nadal said: "Two weeks ago I was in a fantastic situation, winning a fantastic tournament. Two weeks later I lost here in the first round. That's the positive and the negative thing about this sport."
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