How did Rosol beat Nadal and what can others learn from this match?

Lukas Rosol, ranked 100 in the world, defeats Rafael Nadal in five sets on Centre Court in the second round at Wimbledon. Rosol turns 27 in July and has been around at Challenger level for some time having only won 18 matches (Singles) on the ATP tour in his whole career. Although he beat Nadal in five sets, he nearly did it in straight sets losing the first set to an 11-9 tie-breaker.

The question is how did he beat Nadal and what can others learn from this result?

Tim Henman offered the suggestion that nobody could have lived with Rosol today - that it didn't matter who was on the other side of the net:

Tim Henman wrote: "It was a freak performance. It's amazing we don't know more about Rosol. It's not as if Nadal lost the match. Rosol came out and hit winner after winner. I think he hit 20 aces."

Henman said Rosol was playing error free tennis, hitting the ball hard and flat - high risk tennis except everything went in. This type of flat hitting causes the ball to whiz through the court and didn't seem to give Nadal time to reach the ball and set himself up for his lower risk top spin shots.

Some Stats
Height: 6' 5" (196 cm)
Weight: 178 lbs (81 kg)
Turned Pro: 2004
Career Record on the Tour: 18 wins and 32 losses
Career Earnings (singles & doubles combined): $879,777

ATP Page for 2012: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Lukas-Rosol.aspx?t=rb
Match Record for 2012: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Lukas-Rosol.aspx?t=mr
Match Record for career: http://www.atpworldtour.com/Tennis/Players/Top-Players/Lukas-Rosol.aspx?t=mr

Supplementary Question: It seems that Nadal was complaining about Rosol moving as he (Nadal) was about to serve. Rosol said he was just doing his normal thing in preparation for receiving the ball. Does anyone have any further details on Nadal's complaint?

It was just like what James Blake and Mikael Youzhny used to do all the time. Hard, flat hitting.

The thing is he is 6'5" and ate the loopy forehand for breakfast.

Nadal always had problems against good player of that height, its still remarkable how Rosol kep his cool on the 5th set and pull a stunning win.

Henman's quote was interesting - I wonder how Federer, for instance, would have handled Rosol today. I have a sneaky suspicion that the fact that Federer naturally looks to take control of the points would have taken the time away from Rosol - Nadal was chopping the ball back far too often, allowing his opponent to dictate practically every point.

It was a pleasure to watch this match, I make a habit to watch as many of the top guys as possible but especially Fed and Nadal and that paid off today.

I think a key thing in helping Rosol was getting under Rafa's skin but equally handing the pressure well and his ridiculously good first serve percentage.

Freak match for me...it's not that Nadal played too badly he just didnt see the ball.
I also think the grass is playing much quicker this year. Rosol put in a miracle performance...not sure there is really much you can analyse from the match to be honest. Rosol just decided to constantly belt the ball and they all went in. He should choose 6 lottery numbers tonight as well.

lydian wrote:Freak match for me...it's not that Nadal played too badly he just didnt see the ball.
I also think the grass is playing much quicker this year. Rosol put in a miracle performance...not sure there is really much you can analyse from the match to be honest. Rosol just decided to constantly belt the ball and they all went in. He should choose 6 lottery numbers tonight as well.

Nadal played some shocking service games when he got broken in both the second and third set. I mean how often does he allow himself to go 40-0 down on his own serve? Had Nadal got those sets to tie breakers, he'd have won the match but that's another matter.

This was quite similar to Nadal's loss against Soderling. Up against a player hitting the lines and hitting flat, Nadal struggles to find answers.

Calling him lucky now Lydian

he's just come off winning the French for a 7th time and your letting this loss get to you?

He was flat luciusmann but Rosol played unreal. Just when Nadal had got back in the match they took them off which took the momentum away.

This happens sometimes...he barely ha chance to catch breath after FO really...it's tim for a long rest for him after a long and successful clay season.

JM, you'll not wind me up although I know that's your modus operandi. Conversely, it's clear the win is getting to people on here.
Lucky is your word...I said freak match...which it was clearly. How often is Rosol going to play like that? But with the stars aligning as they have for Rosol, yeah it wouldn't be a bad idea to buy some lottery tickets.

Nadal was broken a few times. Nadal was complaining that Rosol was moving as he was about to serve, apparently "putting him off". Did anyone watch the match - and can they add anything to this?

Rosol's forehand was simply more powerful than Rafa's most of the day. That was the case in how Soderling beat him, it was the case for how Djokovic won US Open, and is the same today.

I wonder if this opens the door for others to take it to Nadal in this way - I guess we'll see how it pans out.

lydian wrote:He was flat luciusmann but Rosol played unreal. Just when Nadal had got back in the match they took them off which took the momentum away.

This happens sometimes...he barely ha chance to catch breath after FO really...it's tim for a long rest for him after a long and successful clay season.

Nadal's schedule over the clay season was intense although I think it's a lack of grass court play that disadvantaged Nadal more than anything else. I always felt the risk would be in the early rounds for Nadal as he adjusts to grass, not in the latter stages and I hate to see it born out but that's whats happened.

This is a big shock for tennis regardless of if it's a freak result. From now on, until Nadal reclaims the No.2 spot, he may be put on Djokovic's side of the draw and Fed may get Murray instead and in grand slams, that may give Fed a chance of winning a slam, he was 2 match points away last year from beating Djokovic and in 2010 too, but let's say that's the final instead now? Would Djokovic handle the onerous pressure better?

Bellucci will be wondering how on earth he lost to the toerag this evening...

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Rosol's forehand was simply more powerful than Rafa's most of the day. That was the case in how Soderling beat him, it was the case for how Djokovic won US Open, and is the same today.

\

Exactly. Nothing left in Nadal's tank against that. He relies on slower moonball baseline hitting.

Nore Staat wrote:Nadal was broken a few times. Nadal was complaining that Rosol was moving as he was about to serve, apparently "putting him off". Did anyone watch the match - and can they add anything to this?

Meh he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. Moving from side to side and spinning his racquet while waiting to receive. Many many other players do the same thing.

When asked about it after the match Rosol seemed quite genuinely surprised and said he was just concentrating on his own game and he didn't know what Nadal was complaining about.

reckoner wrote:I wonder if this opens the door for others to take it to Nadal in this way - I guess we'll see how it pans out.

That's what I am trying to ascertain from the esteemed members of 606v2 on this thread

Josiah Maiestas wrote:Bellucci will be wondering how on earth he lost to the toerag this evening...

No need to be disrespectful to Nadal, Nadal recovered brilliantly to dispatch Belucci, as he so often does to so many other players.

It took two shocking Nadal service games in set 2 and 3 and he was two sets down to one and no doubt that break for roof to be closed helped Rosol to focus after being twice broken in the 4th set.

You could argue Nadal was lucky to edge that first set but Rosol had balls of steal and as Fed would probably say -was swinging wildly and shanking them in.

reckoner wrote:

Nore Staat wrote:... Nadal was complaining that Rosol was moving as he was about to serve, apparently "putting him off". Did anyone watch the match - and can they add anything to this? ...

Meh he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. Moving from side to side and spinning his racquet while waiting to receive. Many many other players do the same thing. ...

I suppose it's worth giving it a go to see whether there is a response. Murray tends to jump forward / change position at the last moment so I suppose he would have difficulty attempting the side to side movement with racquet spins.

lydian wrote:Freak match for me...it's not that Nadal played too badly he just didnt see the ball.
I also think the grass is playing much quicker this year. Rosol put in a miracle performance...not sure there is really much you can analyse from the match to be honest. Rosol just decided to constantly belt the ball and they all went in. He should choose 6 lottery numbers tonight as well.

I don't know if I accept that this is some isolated issue for Nadal. Nadal has not been a good fast court player since the end of 2011, I mean he has been extremely good to get to finals and semis but he hasn't won anything. I mean is his last tournament win off clay the 2010 US open, I don't remember the last one. Either way off of the clay Nadal has not been nearly as dominant. Yes he has been getting to the semis and finals and has done most of his losing to Djokovic in fast court finals. But still the Nadal who was dominant in the USO 2010 has not really been seen since on a fast court.

What was it about when Rosol served an ace, but had to serve again as Nadal "wasn't ready"

I think Rosol coud have had a legit complaint there.

It's a case that highlights what would have happened to Nadal in eras gone by against the big servers using lighter balls on faster grass - ie. he would have had his backside presented to him on a plate!

When Djokovic beats Nadal it's a completely different game - Djokovic plays Nadal's game in terms of long rallies - it's just that the Mark II version of Djokovic did it better with a little more variety. This is what Murray has been aiming for and is why he keeps saying he needs to get fitter.

However the Rosol-Nadal match was something different.

It is said that Soderling played something like this on the clay in 2009 to beat Nadal, yet it is claimed that Nadal wasn't 100% and indeed he missed Wimbledon 2009 to get the special PRP treatment for his knees.

Nore Staat wrote:

reckoner wrote:I wonder if this opens the door for others to take it to Nadal in this way - I guess we'll see how it pans out.

That's what I am trying to ascertain from the esteemed members of 606v2 on this thread

Well, who knows. Perhaps a look at what happened after the Soderling loss might be instructive, however I would have thought Rafa is a bit too old to go on an extended break like that again. I'm sure some would say it's time for a visit to the doc...

If you stand 4 metres behind the line, then you do not have a chance to reach on well placed serves and got into the return rhytm. Nadull game is just determined for slowest condition. I hope that organizers will come to their sense and will a bit speed up the courts.

reckoner wrote:

Nore Staat wrote:Nadal was broken a few times. Nadal was complaining that Rosol was moving as he was about to serve, apparently "putting him off". Did anyone watch the match - and can they add anything to this?

Meh he wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary. Moving from side to side and spinning his racquet while waiting to receive. Many many other players do the same thing.

When asked about it after the match Rosol seemed quite genuinely surprised and said he was just concentrating on his own game and he didn't know what Nadal was complaining about.

Nadal is a bad sportsman who robbed a point off him on serve. Nothing more needs saying. Nadal is rumbled.

Nadal lost because he never hit the ball flat on the return, Rosol didn't stop pummeling.

I have been unable to watch all day have been out all evening, I come back to see this result! I am absolutely speechless and gutted that I missed what seems such an incredible match!! Something must have been wrong with Rafa? Or did Rosol really play that incredibly?? Considering his age and ranking, thats one of the biggest upsets surely?! I think I am right in saying its only the 3rd time in Rafas career he has lost a slam match after winning the first set! The 2nd time was only recently at the Aussie Open.

Honestly CAS it wasn't about Nadal, the guy just went for the throat non-stop. It was overpowering.

CAS wrote:I have been unable to watch all day have been out all evening, I come back to see this result! I am absolutely speechless and gutted that I missed what seems such an incredible match!! Something must have been wrong with Rafa? Or did Rosol really play that incredibly?? Considering his age and ranking, thats one of the biggest upsets surely?! I think I am right in saying its only the 3rd time in Rafas career he has lost a slam match after winning the first set! The 2nd time was only recently at the Aussie Open.

It was a close first set. Rosol could have won this match in str8 sets. He played incredible more than anything else. Nadal become very unsettled. He had no idea how to deal with Rosol's serve most the match and throw in a few dreadful serve games from Nadal in the 2nd and 3rd set and Nadal was close to defeat then the roof break took the momentum away from Nadal and after the resumption it was curtains...

In a way I agree with Lydian - a freak performance from Rosol, who just kept pummelling flat shots down at Rafa, and they kept going in. I've never seen Nadal taken so far from his game plan. Others have mentioned the Soderling defeat at RG, and certainly there are some similiarities (tall players, hitting flat bombs of either side), but it wasn't even as though Rosol was painting the lines most of the time - he simply beat Rafa for pace.

Absolutely brilliant performance from the Czech - will be interesting to see if he can back it up, or will the next match be the performance of a guy rightly ranked #100?

I don't think Rafa played that badly (not really well other than the 4th set)- first serve % was good, not a big number of UEs and plenty of winners himself, but he just found himself overwhelmed for periods in the match. The other guy just played great. Rafa was a bit unlucky with them having to stop to close the roof just as he'd gained momentum, but it was the right decision as they'd have only been half way through the set when it got too dark.

lydian wrote:Freak match for me...it's not that Nadal played too badly he just didnt see the ball.
I also think the grass is playing much quicker this year. Rosol put in a miracle performance...not sure there is really much you can analyse from the match to be honest. Rosol just decided to constantly belt the ball and they all went in. He should choose 6 lottery numbers tonight as well.

Correct Lydian the conditions were simply too quick for him. Murray or Nole would have at least got the ball back and then mixed the play up. Roger would have wrong footed him more. Rafa just seemed helpless - I can't remember him actually looking that bad

But we have to remember and it stirs up the age old argument about today's courts - Rafa is not a master of very fast conditions

bogbrush wrote:Honestly CAS it wasn't about Nadal, the guy just went for the throat non-stop. It was overpowering.

I actually don't believe that any of the other Top 4 would have lost this match. But they all have a more varied game and are more suited to these conditions

paulcz wrote:If you stand 4 metres behind the line, then you do not have a chance to reach on well placed serves and got into the return rhytm. Nadull game is just determined for slowest condition. I hope that organizers will come to their sense and will a bit speed up the courts.

And that sums up where Nadal went wrong. As we know Nole and Fed always try and attack and Murray always attacks his opponents play. Rafa was busy just trying to push the ball back into play. The conditions, the niggly incidents etc just conspired to get the normally mentally touch Spaniard, frankly running scared

Which is why we can't read owt into this. Some of us made that mistake in 2009!!

I'd agree with Lydian (& Henman's post match comments), Rosol did produce a freak performance of excellence.

Let's not forget how close Nadal could have been to winning this. Set 2 & 3 were lost in shocking fashion by the way Nadal allowed himself to go down 40-0 on his own service games. A tie breaker might have been enough for Nadal to eek out a win but he had to get there first. The fashion of Nadal's lose reminded of Fed's loss to Tsonga's last year but the difference is Tsonga is well known and it was in the quarter finals, this is only the second round. Last time this happened to Nadal was in 2005 (at Wimbledon too), that's how long ago it was! Really does underline how consistent Fed's performance have been at the slams.

I can't really see Rosol's powerful hitting tactics working on the outside courts like it was today. Doubt we'll be seeing a Soderling type reincarnation. Still feels unreal result.

Josiah Maiestas wrote:I can't really see Rosol's powerful hitting tactics working on the outside courts like it was today. Doubt we'll be seeing a Soderling type reincarnation. Still feels unreal result.

Will he be relegated to the outside courts? After beating a top seed like Nadal?

Even if he is, he might play R3 on the outside court but R4 would be on Court No.1 or Centre Court and definitely every other match thereafter if he gets that far, surely?

Considering Lukas Rosol's record, I think he will be knocked out next round. He has just shown that he is able to produce a "top four or higher level" performance in a SINGLE five setter match. But his record overwhelmingly suggests that he won't be able to maintain this within a tournament and the greater likelihood is that he will lose to the 27th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the next match.

That is why I am interested in knowing if there is anything to learn from this match that others might implement (such as Murray etc). The consensus so far appears to be "play unbelievably good tennis with a high risk flat hitting game whilst making sure the ball goes in" ... which suggests not many will in fact be able to implement this strategy successfully.

On a separate note the winner of the Lukas vs Kohlscreiber match will face the winner of the Benoit Paire vs Brian Baker match (yes the "Brian Baker" who had to go through three rounds of qualifying as well).

Life doesn't always work like that. Sometimes a player makes a break through after a result like that.

Nore Staat wrote:Considering Lukas Rosol's record, I think he will be knocked out next round. He has just shown that he is able to produce a "top four or higher level" performance in a SINGLE five setter match. But his record overwhelmingly suggests that he won't be able to maintain this within a tournament and the greater likelihood is that he will lose to the 27th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the next match.

That is why I am interested in knowing if there is anything to learn from this match that others might implement (such as Murray etc).

On a separate note the winner of the Lukas vs Kohlscreiber match will face the winner of the Benoit Paire vs Brian Baker match (yes the "Brian Baker" who had to go through three rounds of qualifying as well).

Possibly -this may be the case. Although the last time a player defeated Nadal before the finals end of a slam, he got to the final (i.e. Soderling) so there isn't any reason to suppose he can't besides his ranking which is far below Solderling's.

If Rosol can manage to get past R3, I think he stands a good chance of getting to the Quarters but let's see how he does in the next match. I agree that Rosol may not achieve very much of note again, like Soderling perhaps but that doesn't preclude him having a good run @ Wimbledon. he played a very effectively game against Nadal.

luciusmann wrote:... If Rosol can manage to get past R3, I think he stands a good chance of getting to the Quarters but let's see how he does in the next match. I agree that Rosol may not achieve very much of note again, like Soderling perhaps but that doesn't preclude him having a good run @ Wimbledon. he played a very effectively game against Nadal.

Rosol managed to get to a high ranking of 65 last year, I would hope this win will give him the belief to become at least a regular top 50 player and maybe a top 30 player, but I don't think this high risk strategy will always work for him. With the elation of beating Nadal, and the "world" beating on Rosol's door for interviews etc (especially from his own country), it seems possible that he won't have time to get his feet back on the ground again, in time to prepare for his third round match against Kohlschreiber. Of course, Kohlschreiber also knocked Nadal out of a grass court tournament - the previous tournament in Halle.

My prediction is a Kohlschreiber vs Brian Baker fourth round tie but lets hope for some good tennis .

True, although Kohlschreiber knocking out Nadal in a warm up tournament in a BO3 set match is different.

It will be interesting to see how Rosol manages. If he keeps his first serve up at around 80% as he did against Nadal through most of the match then I can see him getting further than his ranking might suggest.

Depends on how Rosol copes with his moment of fame, he looked like the sort who would be unfazed by it, but demeanor on court doesn't always extend off it.

p.s Connors has said more or less the same thing as you said, that Rosol is a 'stopper' but won't go deep or reach the final. Typical stuff from Connors though, the more I hear from him the less I've liked him. Agassi talks about Connors in his biography and his arrogant nature (so arrogant he didn't even carry his own tennis bag onto court), well sounds like Connors was arrogant as usual even if he is retired!

I've just seen a few highlights of the game. Nadal has always said that he finds the early part of Wimbledon the most difficult because the court plays "fast". By the time of the second week the courts slow down due to wear and tear.

It seems to me that Rosol played a huge flat hitting game and more or less blasted Nadal out of the tournament. I don't think Federer, Dojokovic or Murray can really learn anything from this match because they simply don't have the huge hitting game that Rosol showed in this match.

I don't think Nadal can really learn from this defeat either, Rosol was simply too good. The only thing he could try was to break Rosol's rythm and concentration. Perhaps this was what he tried to do in the game but it didn't work.

Whats Rafas ranking going to look like after this? Is he going to slip to 4?

I was at Wimbledon watched the whole match live. I agree with many of the comments on here, the majority are accurate.

The sets Nadal lost were all 6-4 and were very similar to the sets Federer lost last year in the Quarter. Both Tsonga and Rosol played unbelievable matches (especially in the sets they won) but I'll have Rosol down as the better effort as he was a bigger underdog.

I also saw Murray Karlovic- which could have gone either way. Murray was poor- I don't think he would have won a set against Rosol the way he was playing.

Anyway shall write a match report tomorrow. Rosol was superb, must admit as a Rafa fan.
As for the closing roof, Rosol complained to the umpire first, not Nadal (if it was the other way round people would be here saying Nadal was a cheat for that). The decision taken by the umpire to have a roof, irrelevant of whether it broke Nadal's momentum or not, was absolutely correct as bad light would have eventually delayed it.

CAS wrote:Whats Rafas ranking going to look like after this? Is he going to slip to 4?

No. Murray is far too behind to catch Rafa even after this loss.

Rafa will become #3, Fed #2.

The lead currently is 260 (or rather hypothetically until Fed is out of the tournament) to Fed (for #2), rising progressively to almost 1, 000 if Fed makes the semis.

Nadal's lead over Murray is around 2, 000 points even if Murray makes the semis, or 1, 500 or so if he makes the final.

Depending on how Federer or Djokovic finish, the #3 & #4 slot are likely to stay as they are for a while, probably until the USO.

Agreed NL, Rosol has a huge hitting game, I'm hoping he keeps it up, I did find it good to watch, a player going for his shots is different to what many of us are accustom to seeing these days in tennis.

It Must Be Love wrote:I was at Wimbledon watched the whole match live. I agree with many of the comments on here, the majority are accurate.

The sets Nadal lost were all 6-4 and were very similar to the sets Federer lost last year in the Quarter. Both Tsonga and Rosol played unbelievable matches (especially in the sets they won) but I'll have Rosol down as the better effort as he was a bigger underdog.

I also saw Murray Karlovic- which could have gone either way. Murray was poor- I don't think he would have won a set against Rosol the way he was playing.

Anyway shall write a match report tomorrow. Rosol was superb, must admit as a Rafa fan.
As for the closing roof, Rosol complained to the umpire first, not Nadal (if it was the other way round people would be here saying Nadal was a cheat for that). The decision taken by the umpire to have a roof, irrelevant of whether it broke Nadal's momentum or not, was absolutely correct as bad light would have eventually delayed it.

Wow, it must have been difficult for you to see your man get toppled today? Sorry to see Nadal bow out so early. I'm pleased you're able to give credit Rosol for playing superbly as you should need to (to beat a legend of the game like Nadal).

Agree with your comments regarding the similarity of the sets won by Rosol and by Tsonga last year against Fed. Looking forward to seeing your match report. Bravo for taking the defeat with good grace (only Rafa has done it better himself)!

Current Rankings (start of wimbledon) Wimbledon 2011 results in brackets
1 Djokovic, Novak (SRB) 12,280 (winner)
2 Nadal, Rafael (ESP) 10,060 (finalist)
3 Federer, Roger (SUI) 9,435 (QF)
4 Murray, Andy (GBR) 6,980 (SF)
5 Ferrer, David (ESP) 5,250
6 Tsonga, Jo-Wilfried (FRA) 5,230

Rafael Nadal new ranking points after Wimbledon 2012 will be 8905.
He will drop to third in the rankings no matter what Federer does - as Federer is only defending 360 points. Andy Murray will be some way off Nadal even if Murray were to win Wimbledon (maximum possible ranking points after Wimbledon 2012 for Murray - 8260).

Grand Slam Pts
W: 2000
F: 1200
SF: 720
QF: 360
4R: 180
3R: 90
2R: 45
1R: 10