Legend-killer Lukas Rosol hopes to beat Rafael Nadal again

Lukas Rosol

Lukas Rosol, who came into the limelight two years ago for knocking out two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal in an ill-tempered five-set match, has backed himself to repeat his miraculous feat when the two meet on Thursday in the second round again.

The 28-year-old Czech, who was ranked 100th in the world and was just keeping his head above water on the tour in 2012, stunned the world when he beat Nadal with his big and disdainful hitting which recorded the Spaniard’s earliest ever exit at the tournament at the time. (Nadal went on to lose his first round match at Wimbledon in 2013).

That win was all the more significant as Rosol had gone out of the tournament in the first round of qualifying in his previous five attempts. Now ranked 52, Rosol is hoping to beat Nadal again at the same stage and says he has nothing to fear.

"It's Nadal who has to win, I have nothing to lose, I can create another surprise. I want to impose my style on him. The shorter the rallies, the better for me," he said.

After the defeat, Nadal spent seven months away from the tour to cool his battered knees, and Rosol lost in the third round in straight sets.

The Czech explained that his victory over Nadal was a ‘miralce’ but insisted that if he found his aggressive groove again, he would be hard to beat.

"Two years ago, everything was perfect, my head was clear and when I am like this, I am very hard to play against. I convinced myself that I was very hard to beat."

Rosol, who lost to Nadal in straight sets in Doha earlier this year, added, "Nadal is the king of clay, but he is more vulnerable on other surfaces, especially grass. If you want to beat one of the big stars at a Grand Slam, the early rounds are the best."

The match on Thursday, who many have called labelled a revenge match for Nadal, will be the highlight of the second round draw and Nadal’s fans would be hoping for a result in their hero’s favour.