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Nadal shocked at Wimbledon first round

Xinhua, June 25, 2013

• Fomer Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal (R) suffered his first opening-round loss at a Grand Slam after a three-set loss to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis. [CFP]

  French Open champion Rafael Nadal suffered his first opening-round loss at a Grand Slam as he was shocked by Steve Darcis of Belgium, ranked No. 135 in the world.

  Darcis took the biggest win of his career on No. 1 Court 7-6 (4), 7-6 (8), 6-4 in two hours and 55 minutes.

  "I think today I serve very good," said Darcis. "I could use a lot of slice. And I think he didn't like it so much. Of course, he didn't play his best tennis. But I knew it is the first match on grass for him. Me, I played already four. So I think it helped me today."

  Nadal, who was upset in the second round by Lukas Rosol last year, just won his record eighth title at Roland Garros but the 29-year-old Darcis proved too much for his younger opponent.

  The fifth seed said, "Now is not the right time to talk about my knee. The only thing I can do is congratulate my opponent. It is not a tragedy, I lost, it is sport. I'm confident that I will recover and be ready for the next tournaments. I have played far more than I expected after my injury and I will try my best for the next couple of years."

  Darcis had played at Wimbledon only three times before and in 12 of his 18 previous Grand Slam appearances he had lost in the first round. His best previous result at Wimbledon was to reach the second round in 2009.

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