Winning Wimbledon crown remains the ultimate aim of tennis players. It has great history associated with it and the tournament has witnessed some of the best matches played in tennis history. It is a tournament that every player wants to win and that brings the best out of every player. Over the years Wimbledon has given us many tennis heroes, be it the world record holder Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Steffi Graf, Bjorn Borg or the Williams sisters, they have evolved from Wimbledon.

But this year something strange is happening. The tournament has seen some shocking results and we have not even crossed the half-way stage mark. Let’s have a look at some of the most shocking results in the tournament so far.  

Rafael Nadal going down to Lukas Rosol in second round: Rafael Nadal was knocked out of Wimbledon in the second round by the lowest-ranked player ever at a Grand Slam tournament. The two-time champion lost to 100th ranked Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic 7-6 (9), 4-6, 4-6, 6-2, 4-6. Nadal, who recently won the French Open title after defeating world number one Novak Djokovic, was is great form coming into the tournament and no one could have expected this result. Nadal after the loss said, “That's not a tragedy; it's just a tennis match. Last four months were great for me, probably the best months in my career playing unbelievable in the clay court season. The only thing I can do is go back home and rest. I need and deserve it." But in the last few years we have witnessed that the top four players Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Murray, all doing good in Grand Slams and they have been dominant with their play. Nadal, considered as one of the most consistent players going around, losing in 2nd round is considered to be one of the biggest upset of all time.

Venus Williams losing in first round to Elena Vesnina: Five-time Wimbledon champion, who is considered to be one of the best women tennis players on grass, lost in the first round against Elena Vesnina of Russia in straight sets. Venus, who has won five Wimbledon titles between 2000 and 2008, was struggling with health problems and it was expected that she will use her favourite playing conditions to get back where she belongs, but that was not to be. Prior to this, Venus only had a first round exit from Wimbledon was on her debut in 1997.

World No 1 Sharapova losing in fourth round: The Russian, who recently completed a career Grand Slam by putting up a fabulous shown in French Open, was outplayed by Sabine Lisicki6-4, 6-3. Sharapova, who had the chance to become the only player after Serena Williams to win both French Open and Wimbledon in the same year, had only herself to blame for the loss because of the numbers of unforced errors she committed.

Mirza-Bhupathi losing in second round: Much was expected from this Indian pair after their triumph in the recently concluded French Open but they disappointed their fans as they were beaten inside an hour by the Australia-Russian pair of Paul Hanley and Alla Kurdryavtseva 3-6, 1-6. Indian tennis is going through a tough time off late and both these players were involved in controversies. Sania and Bhupathi wanted to be teamed up for Olympics but AITA decided that it will be Leander Paes who will partner Sania. Sania who after her French Open win said that they will be the team to look out for expressed her disappointment and this tournament was the best opportunity for the pair of Sania and Bhupathi to show why they should be paired. But they were outplayed and could only manage to win four games and their show might put an end to the discussion.

By Gaurav Jha
Indian Sports News Network