25 Jun 2013

Nadal beaten on day one of Wimbledon

5:42 am on 25 June 2013

For the second straight year Spanish tennis star Rafa Nadal has suffered an early exit from Wimbledon, this morning beaten by Belgian outsider Steve Darcis in the first round.

A year after losing in the second round, 12-time grand slam champion Nadal was outplayed by 135th-ranked Darcis on Court One, losing in straight sets in front of a disbelieving crowd.

Fifth seed Nadal had never lost in the first round of a grand slam tournament before, and becomes the first reigning French Open champion to lose in the first round of Wimbledon since Gustavo Kuerten suffered a first-round exit in 1997.

The women's 5th seed Sara Errani of Italy was also beaten, going out to Monica Puig of Puerto Rico.

There have been wins for Andy Murray and Roger Federer and Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova, although Sharapova was taken to a first set tie-break before winning in straight sets.