AP – Rafael Nadal suffered Wimbledon humiliation by Belgian world No.135 Steve Darcis on Monday, a shock first-round defeat which instantly cleared the title paths of Andy Murray and Roger Federer.
The 29-year-old Darcis won 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 in two hours and 55 minutes, inflicting the fifth-seeded Spaniard’s first loss in the opening round of a major.
It also came just two weeks after 12-time grand slam title winner Nadal, the 2008 and 2010 Wimbledon champion, had celebrated a record eighth French Open crown.
But he refused to blame his constant struggles with his knees for defeat.
“I tried my best in every moment, but it was not possible this afternoon,” said Nadal.
“On grass, it’s difficult to adapt when you don’t have a chance to play on the surface before Wimbledon.”
Darcis will next face Poland’s Lukasz Kubot.
Second-seeded Murray made history as the world No.2 cruised into the second round with a 6-4 6-3 6-2 victory over Germany’s Benjamin Becker.
Murray becomes the most successful British man in grand slam history, surpassing Fred Perry’s 106 matches won at the four majors.
Next up, the US Open champion will play Britain’s James Ward or Lu Yen-Hsun of Taiwan.
“It’s a good start. There are always nerves before the first match at a grand slam, especially here for me. I’m glad to get it out of the way and keep improving,” said the 2012 runner-up.
Federer began his bid for a record eighth Wimbledon with a 69-minute demolition of Victor Hanescu.
The seven-time champion swept to a 6-3 6-2 6-0 win to celebrate the 10th anniversary of his first Wimbledon triumph.
“It’s the most special thing to be back on centre court,” said Federer, playing in his 55th straight grand slam and seeking an 18th major. He next plays Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine.
French sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga eased to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 6-3 win over David Goffin of Belgium.
Tsonga, who reached the semi-finals last year, will next play fellow Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin or Ernests Gulbis of Latvia.
Australian qualifier Matt Reid suffered a first-round loss to Czech veteran Radek Stepanek, going down 6-2 6-2 6-4 in his first senior appearance in a grand slam singles match.
Fellow Australian Marinko Matosevic fell 6-1 4-6 6-4 6-3 to Frenchman Guillaume Rufin.
Tneth-seeded Marin Cilic of Croatia defeated Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets and Serbian Viktor Troicki downed compatriot and 14th seed Janko Tipsarevic, also in three.
Other seeds to score first-round wins included Nicolas Almagro (15), John Isner (18), Mikhail Youzhny (20), Juan Monaco (22), Jerzy Janowicz (24) and Benoit Paire (25).
Austrian Jurgen Melzer upset 30th seed Fabio Fognini of Italy in four sets.
