Nadal stunned by Rosol in thriller

Czech Lukas Rosol beat second seed Rafael Nadal 6-7 6-4 6-4 2-6 6-4 in the Wimbledon second round to complete one of the biggest ever upsets on Thursday.

The world number 100, making his Wimbledon debut, overpowered the Spanish second seed who was seeking his third title at the All England Club with an inspired display on Centre Court.

"I never expected something like this," Rosol said. "I am very sorry for him but I hope I can play one more match like this. I played my best match ever. It means so much for me."

Nadal looked on course to reach the third round in routine fashion when he came through a marathon first-set tiebreak 11-9.

But Rosol, who has never gone beyond the third round of a grand slam, broke serve in the opening game of the second set and stunned Nadal with a succession of inspired winners from all over the court.

Nadal was powerless to stem the tide and was clearly upset by the 26-year-old Czech's aggressive style but he dug in to break serve at the start of the fourth set and repeated the feat to level at two sets all.

Officials decided to close the Centre Court roof to enable the match to be finished.

After a half-hour delay the players returned and Rosol immediately broke Nadal's serve.

He continued to subject the world No 2 to a barrage of aces and outrageous winners to set up a third-round match against German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

It was the first time Nadal had lost before the third round of a grand slam since he was beaten by Gilles Mueller in the second round at Wimbledon in 2005.

KARLOVIC BLASTS OFFICIALS

Britain's Andy Murray faced an all-out assault from massive-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic before booking his place in the third round with a 7-5 6-7 6-2 7-6 win.

The No 4 seed struggled to get a handle on the Karlovic serve with 17 aces flying past him and the 2.08 metre Croat also volleyed well to frustrate Murray.

After claiming the first set, Murray was unable to find a way to upset the Karlovic serve in the second and was pegged back in a tiebreak.

He broke twice in the third set and closed out the match in a second tiebreak to advance to a third-round match against Marcos Baghdatis.

After the match, Karlovic, who was called for 11 foot-faults, accused All England Club line judges of deliberately attempting to ease the British player's path through the tournament.

"In my whole life, ever since I was eight years old, I didn't do this many foot faults. It was like 11," said 33-year-old Karlovic.

"The whole credibility of this tournament went down for me. I'm angry about it, a little bit pissed, because I don't expect it here. Even though it is against an English guy who they always want to win."

Andy Roddick, a three-time runner-up, went through to the last 32 with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 win over Germany's Bjorn Phau and will face Spanish seventh seed David Ferrer who put out France's Kenny De Schepper 7-6 (7/1), 6-2, 6-4.

Japan's Kei Nishikori and Belgian wildcard David Goffin showed that size doesn't matter as two of the men's tour's brightest prospects advanced impressively to the third round.

In a sport where being six foot tall is often seen as a prerequisite for progress, both are diminutive figures and Goffin, in particular, looks little older than the eager ball boys scampering around Court 14 during his 4-6 6-4 6-1 6-3 defeat of American Jesse Levine.

FUTURE TOP-10 MATERIAL

However, what they lack in height they both more than make up for in skill and power and along with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov and Canadian fast-riser Milos Raonic, are tipped as future top-10 material.

Nishikori, the elder of the quartet at 22 and already seeded 19 at this year's championships after a run to the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, had a resounding 6-3 7-5 6-2 win over Frenchman Florent Serra.

A big name back home, Nishikori was cheered on by an enthusiastic posse of camera-wielding Japanese as he became the first man from that nation to reach the third round at Wimbledon since Shuzo Matsuoka 17 years ago.

"It feels good. Always proud to make a new history," the 5ft 10in Florida-based Nishikori told reporters.

"When I was in Japan, I think I was 11 and I trained a couple of times a year (with Matsuoka). I think that helped me a lot. He always sends me emails after my matches still."

Goffin, 21, was handed a wildcard for his Wimbledon main draw debut after a stunning run to the last 16 as a qualifying-round lucky loser at Roland Garros where he led Roger Federer by a set before going out.

Federer was full of praise then for the angelic-looking Goffin and the Belgian's fan club will grow rapidly if he continues to play the kind of tennis he displayed after a nervy start against Levine on Thursday.

Striking the ball crisply he eventually outclassed qualifier Levine to set up a third-round clash against another American Mardy Fish.

With a few people starting to recognise him, Goffin said he had felt a new kind of pressure.

"I didn't start very well. I was a little bit nervous because on the paper I was favorite, but it's never easy to manage a match like today," the softly-spoken world No 70 said.

"I'm feeling good though. I'm really happy to turn this situation in my favour."

While delighted to be in the third round, Goffin is clearly not satisfied yet and there is no chance of him basking in the kind comments of the man he idolises in Paris.

"Roland Garros is behind me," he said. "I just take the confidence from Paris to play here and we will see the next round. I'm feeling good on grass now," he said.

"I can play aggressive. I can do a lot of good things on grass. Maybe I can do another good performance."

Another win and a top 50 place would be beckoning.

"With this result, I'm probably not far from the top 50. I'm working to be near the top but I'm still working and I have a lot to work on in my game.

"I have a lot of confidence and we'll see at the end of the year which ranking I have."

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