Wimbledon Round 4: Gilles Mulle surprisingly defeats Nadal.

(Baonghean.vn) - The Wimbledon tennis tournament witnessed a major surprise when Gilles Muller, the Luxembourg player and 16th seed, unexpectedly defeated Rafael Nadal, the 4th seed, with a score of 3-2: 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, and 15-13.

With his excellent form recently, Rafael Nadal had not lost a single set up to the fourth round of Wimbledon and he confidently entered the match against Gilles Muller. In their previous six encounters, Rafa had only lost once, in the second round of Wimbledon 12 years ago.

Breathtaking chase

Nadal was defeated by a resilient Mulle. Photo: Internet.

But contrary to predictions from experts and tennis fans around the planet, Nadal unexpectedly suffered a defeat in the marathon match lasting 4 hours and 46 minutes. The 34-year-old Luxembourg player had a very good first serve, but his poor start to the match led Nadal to lose the first two sets.

Throughout the first two sets, Nadal only scored 17 winners (equivalent to 22% of the total winners in the match). In contrast, Muller was very successful with his serve-and-volley strategy on his serves.

The 16th seed successfully capitalized on crucial break opportunities in the first two sets to take a 6-3, 6-4 lead. However, 15-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal refused to give up easily, displaying top-class tennis to win both subsequent sets 6-3, 6-4, forcing a decisive fifth set. But due to declining physical condition and overly cautious play, the "King of Clay" missed the chance to stage a comeback.

At 31 years old, in nearly 5 hours of play, Nadal had to save 4 match points in games 10 and 20, but on the 5th attempt, he couldn't hold on. Rafa's powerful shot handed Muller a well-deserved victory. Statistics show that Muller made far more unforced errors than Nadal (52 compared to Rafa's 17), and also committed significantly more double faults (10 compared to 2), but Muller compensated for this by winning more points than the Spaniard (95 compared to 77), thus securing a spectacular overall victory despite the fifth set lasting 28 games.

Wimbledon's dirty secrets

Rafael Nadal is experiencing a spectacular resurgence, but Wimbledon's grass courts remain a "tough ground" for the former champion of 2008 and 2010. Photo: Internet.

Rafael Nadal is experiencing a spectacular resurgence, but Wimbledon's grass courts remain a "difficult territory" for the former champion of 2008 and 2010, as in his last five appearances at the tournament, Rafa has never advanced beyond the fourth round.

This defeat means Nadal is still unable to reach the world number 1 ranking after Wimbledon, while Andy Murray (who reached the quarterfinals) is highly likely to retain his number 1 spot after the tournament.

The only player still with a chance to overtake Murray for the world number one ranking right after Wimbledon is Novak Djokovic. Meanwhile, Muller's next opponent in the quarterfinals is the seventh seed Marin Cilic, who defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.

The reason experts consider this a big surprise is that this is only the second time in Mulle's career that he has participated in a Grand Slam tournament and the first time at Wimbledon that he has reached the quarterfinals; previously, he only reached the quarterfinals of the US Open in 2008.

Despite his early exit, Nadal expressed satisfaction with the atmosphere on Centre Court. “I played with all my passion in this amazing and enthusiastic atmosphere. I tried my best, but my opponent played exceptionally well, especially in the fifth set. Thank you to the fans for your support,” Rafa shared.

AT