LONDON — On the final point of the first set of his latest Wimbledon disappointment, Rafael Nadal swung his mighty, lefty forehand — and whiffed, accidentally whacking his right leg with his racket.
It was a painful, embarrassing mistake, symbolic of the sort of day this was.
During five trips to the All England Club from 2006-11, Nadal reached the final every time. In his most recent four appearances, though, Nadal has exited early against an unheralded, unaccomplished and, most importantly, unafraid opponent ranked 100th or worse. On Thursday, Nadal lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the second round to Dustin Brown, who needed to qualify just to enter the main draw.