5 lowest-ranked players to defeat Rafael Nadal ft. Lukas Rosol and Nicolas Mahut
Rafael Nadal has had a glittering career filled with ups and downs, containing more of the former than the latter. Although the Spaniard became the first man in the Open Era to win a 21st and 22nd Grand Slam titles, his journey has been nothing short of a roller coaster.
Every top-ranked player has faced a situation where a clash they expected to go their way slips away from their hands, shocking the players and fans aline. The 22-time Grand Slam champion has also experienced his fair share of upsets, succumbing at the hands of fierce competitors who played their best tennis on the day against him.
Without further ado, let’s take a look at 5 of the lowest ranked players who defeated Rafael Nadal:
#1 Rafael Nadal's loss to World No. 690 Joachim Johansson
At the 2006 Stockholm Open, an ATP 250 tournament, the then World No. 2 Rafael Nadal was stunned by World No. 690 Joachim Johansson in the second round. Johansson won the match 6-4, 7-6(4).
Johansson was a former Top-10 player who was out of active tennis due to injury heading into the contest. However, against a young Nadal, he showed what he was really capable of. The Swede has won 3 singles title on the ATP Tour and most notably reached the semifinals of the US Open in 2004.
#2 Loss to No. 147 Alexander Waske
Germany's Alexander Waske defeated a 19-year-old Rafael Nadal in the first round of the Gerry Weber Open in Halle. Waske was ranked No. 147 in the world, whereas the Spaniard was freshly crowned the winner of the French Open, catapulting his ranking to No. 3 in the world.
Nadal had just become the second man in the Open Era after Mats Wilander to win the French Open on his first attempt. Waske ended the Spaniard's 24-match winning streak with the win in Halle.
#3 No. 135 Steve Darcis
The Spanish legend, who was World No. 1 in 2013, suffered a shock exit at the hands of World No. 135 Steve Darcis in the first round of Wimbledon with a 7-6(4), 7-6(8), 6-4 loss.
Darcis ended the Spaniard's 22-match winning streak with his win, shocking the 11,500 spectators who had turned up to watch the seemingly onesided match.
During an interview in 2019, Darcis picked his 2013 battle against the 22-time Grand Slam Champion as the greatest match he ever played.
"It's pretty easy as a question: my win over Rafael Nadal in 2013 Wimbledon. If I have to take one, I should pick it." Darcis said.
#4 World No. 106 Nicolas Mahut
Frenchman Nicolas Mahut outdid Rafael Nadal in the 2007 Queen's Club quarterfinal match. Mahut, who was ranked 107, defeated the Spaniard, who was World No. 2 at the time.
Mahut defeated the Spanish legend 7-5, 7-6(0) to reach the semifinals. However, this marks the only time the Frenchman has ever won over the Spaniard. The pair met twice after 2007 -- once in 2011 and the other in 2017.
In 2011 Mahut conceeded the match at the US Open due to injury. In 2017, the Spanish legend downed Mahut in the Round of 16 at the Miami Open in straight sets.
#5 World No. 100 Lukas Rosol's Wimbledon wow
World No. 100 Lukas Rosol caused one of the biggest upsets as he defeated No. 2 Nadal in the second round at the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. The match was an epic five-setter, with Rosol prevailing over the Spaniard 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in three hours and 18 minutes.
The former Wimbledon champion, devastated by his loss, refused to elaborate more on his exit from the coveted Grand Slam during his post-match interview.
"The bad thing of this is anything that I will say now will sound against me. So it is not the right moment for me to say what happened out there because it's going to sound an excuse, and I never want to put an excuse after a match like today. But the umpire said a few things that weren't right," the Spaniard confessed.