Navratilova talks Nadal's shock defeat
02:41 - Source: CNN

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Lukas Rosol, ranked 100, defeated the number 2 Rafael Nadal

Rosol made his Wimbledon debut this year

Tennis observers doubt Rosol will make it far

CNN  — 

An unknown tennis player ranked number 100 burst from obscurity and knocked Rafael Nadal out of Wimbledon Thursday.

Lukas Rosol defeated the number 2 ranked Nadal, 6-7 (9-11) 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4.

Fresh off the biggest win of his life, Rosol said: “Before the last game, I was not sure if I will be shaking or not because it was the first time against Rafa and the first time also in Wimbledon Center Court. You never know what to expect, so it was not easy, and I survived.”

Rosol comes from Prerov, Czech Republic. He made his Wimbledon debut after losing in the first round of qualifying the last five years.

In contrast, Nadal has reached the Wimbledon finals five times in the last six years, winning the title twice. Both players are 26 years old.

Rosol started playing tennis at age six, and his hobby is listed as watching sports, according to his ATP profile. His favorite surface to play is clay, although his latest victory came on Wimbledon’s famous grass courts.

Prior to the season, Rosol had never won a tour-level grass-court match, according to ATP.

Looking dismayed after his earliest Grand Slam defeat in seven years, Nadal spoke haltingly in a press conference.

“These kinds of matches can happen. Today it happened,” said Nadal, who has won 11 Grand Slam titles.

Later, Nadal tweeted in Spanish: It couldn’t be…This is sport! You must know how to celebrate wins and assume defeats! Congratulations to Lukas for his great match!”

Called one of the biggest upsets in Grand Slam history by tennis commentators, many assessed Rosol’s prospects for the rest of the tournament.

Former tennis player, Jimmy Connors tweeted: In ‪#tennis‬ we call Rosol a stopper, he won’t win or even go deep in tourney but he will stop a top seed from advancing ‪#wimbledon‬

Martina Navratilova ‏tweeted: Happy for Lukáš Rosol, but really feeling bad for Rafa,would be shocked if Rosol can get anywhere near that form again…agree with Jimmy.