Wimbledon 2012: 5 Shocking Results
>> Friday, June 29, 2012
As of Friday, the fifth day of competition, two top 10 seeded players in the Wimbledon 2012 men's singles draw have been eliminated and three top 10 seeded players in the women's singles draw have been beaten as well. This list is a running tab of the 5 biggest upset results in this year's Wimbledon championships. If a future result is a bigger upset, it will be added to this list. For now, here are the five biggest upsets so far:
#1. NADAL, Rafael ESP [2] lost to ROSOL, Lukas CZE 6-7(9) 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4.
This is hands down the shock of the tournament. The 100th ranked Lukas Rosol outclassed one of the men's favorites and two-time champion Rafael Nadal in five scintillating sets. This is the worst Grand Slam result for the world no. 2 since 2005 and it comes at the heels of the Spanish record breaking seven titles at Roland Garros. In tennis, you will definitely never know what to expect. This upset result is similar in shock value to Serena William's first round upset at last month's French Open to an opponent outside the top 100.
#2. STOSUR, Samantha AUS [5] lost to RUS, Arantxa NED 6-2 0-6 6-4
Young Dutch player Arantxa Rus has now pulled off her second biggest shock victory at a Grand Slam. First it was Kim Clijsters at the 2011 French Open; this year it was Sam Stosur who was shocked as Rus claimed a strange three-set victory in a wildly see-sawing encounter on No.1 Court. Not known for her mental strength, the world No. 5 was a first-round loser in the past two years at Wimbledon, a surface that was supposed to suit her aggressive and powerful game. Still, the current US Open champion couldn't find an answer to the 21-year old from the Netherlands and has failed to advance beyond the second round in nine appearances at Wimbledon.
#3. SHARAPOVA, Maria RUS [1] lost to LISICKI, Sabine GER [15] 6-4 6-3
Top ranked Maria Sharapova just won the French Open earlier this month completing a career Grand Slam and was certainly the favorite of many coming into Wimbledon, the site of her first ever Grand Slam win. She also beat German Sabine Lisicki in last year's semifinal, and the German isn't really in the best of form if recent results were to be considered. This result is not that much of an upset if we compare the games of both players, with Lisicki packing a powerful game is she's in the zone. Still, no one would have expected Sharapova to lose before the semi-finals.
#4. BERDYCH, Tomas CZE [6] lost to GULBIS, Ernests LAT 7-6(5) 7-6(4) 7-6(4)
Tomas Berdych reached the final of the 2010 Wimbledon but two years later, he crashed in the first round. Ernests Gulbis of Latvia, ranked 87th in the world, pulled off one of the classic first-day victories at Wimbledon with a straight sets victory over the sixth-seeded Czech. Gulbis had not won a Grand Slam match since last year's US Open and his previous best at Wimbledon was to reach the second round in 2008 and 2009. Gulbis, a former promising young player who has a big game has a quarter-finals of the French Open in 2008 as his best achievement.
#5. BARTOLI, Marion FRA [9] lost to LUCIC, Mirjana CRO 6-4 6-3
In 2007, Marion Bartoli reached the final of Wimbledon losing to Venus Williams. This year, she lost to a once promising tennis prodigy who was a 15-year old semi-finalist in 1999. As a wildcard ranked No.134 13 years ago, Mirjana Lucic defeated past top-tenners Monica Seles and Nathalie Tauziat to reach the final four where she was stopped by Steffi Graf in three sets no less. Now 30 and arguably fitter and healthier than at any stage of her tumultuous 15-year career, Lucic used her booming serve and devastating power to full effect during her straight set victory.
Other Notable Upsets:
WOZNIACKI, Caroline DEN [7] lost to PASZEK, Tamira AUT 5-7 7-6(4) 6-4
It is hard to imagine that Caroline Wozniacki was the top seed two Grand Slams ago. After reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open early this year, the former world no. 1 has fallen out of the top five and couldn't take advantage of two match points in her first round match against the Austrian Tamira Paszek. In fairness, Paszek came into Wimbledon in fine form winning her first WTA premier title at Eastbourne last Saturday. Still, Wozniacki was the favored player to win with her experience and achievements.
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