Thursday June 28, 2012. London night. Rafael Nadal he slips and falls on the grass of the center court of the All England Club. A spectacular accident, with the Manacorí tennis player almost tangled in the net. The iconic image of a surprising defeat, which was more painful as the days went by.
Although it was not known at the time, the knees of Nadal They were sending warning signals. So much so that she would not set foot on the court again until February 2013, on the clay of Viña del Mar.
The Manacorí experienced a bitter pill that also had to do with Wimbledon, although for another reason: he had to withdraw from the London 2012 Olympic Gameswhere the Spanish flag bearer should have been.
Everything accelerated in that second round of Wimbledon 2012. Rafa Nadal, second seed, arrived at the ‘Cathedral’ after having played in the final of the five previous Grand Slam tournaments. In Paris he had won his seventh Roland Garros weeks before (half of those he has now).
At Wimbledon he had not missed his appointment with the previous five finals, with the interval of 2009, already absent by the knees. Champion in 2008 and 2010, finalist in 2006, 2007 and 2011.
He defeated the Brazilian in his debut Thomas Bellucci, an ‘earthling’, would collide with a ‘kamikaze’ of the network, then number 100 in the world. The Czech Lukas Rosolwho did not make many friends on the circuit due to his excess of warrior ardor, threw Nadal out with nocturnality and treachery.
In a hot match, which was suspended for more than half an hour before facing the fifth and final set. In the midst of Nadal’s comeback, with 6-2 in the fourth set, the organization decided to stop the match to close the roof and be able to play under artificial lighting.
“Closing the roof was not the best decision for me, I accept it,” declared Rafa Nadal, however upset with that measure.
Rafa Nadal, on the ground after not arriving in time for a drop shot and slipping. The final fall was harder for him, when the Czech Lukas Rosol left him out of his beloved Wimbledon
Own
Won Lukas Rosol, 26 years old, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6 and 6-4 in 3h.18′. He hit 22 aces for the Czech, the surprising 19 that the Spaniard accumulated were of no use to him.
“I need to rest, it’s been many months of playing non-stop,” Nadal announced. It would be seven months without competing.
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Lukas Rosol He continued doing his thing. Now, at 38 years old, she has assured that “everything ends one day, although this ending is the most difficult.” He retires. He became 26th in the world in 2014. His body is not enough, he announced.
That night with Nadal and the Davis Cup are part of his best memories.
2024-04-06 05:00:00
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