Gerry Weber Open: Rafael Nadal Falls to Philipp Kohlschreiber

It's a given that, after achieving a record-breaking career milestone, suffering a letdown in the aftermath can be an unavoidable consequence. That's exactly what happened to Rafael Nadal on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Gerry Open.

Coming off of his record seventh win at Roland Garros on Monday morning, Nadal fell to Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-4 at Halle on Friday. It was the hometown hero's first-ever win over Nadal, and it snapped the Spaniard's 13-match winning streak.

While Kohlschreiber moves on to face the winner of Tomas Berdych versus Tommy Haas, Nadal will face Milos Raonic later on Friday with no hopes of moving on to the finals.

By all indications, though, Friday's result was one Nadal at least had the presence of mind to expect.

Earlier this week, prior to the start of the tournament, Nadal talked to the Agence France-Presse (via News.com.au) about the pressure of playing in this pre-Wimbledon event for the first time since 2005. The history is weirdly symmetrical: Nadal last played at Halle just after his first-ever win at the French Open, and he quickly suffered a defeat in three sets in his opening match.

This time around, bookending his record-breaking seventh win at Roland Garros, he lost once again—not as quickly as the first time, but a loss is a loss.

But that's to be expected coming off a long, hard-fought win at the French Open, particularly when your final match is postponed overnight due to weather.

Nadal told the AFP:

"

When you win a tournament like Roland Garros, it's very difficult to play the following week. Especially when you win for the first time, the first Grand Slam in my career. … The week after winning a tournament like Roland Garros is never easy because there is a lot of tension, a lot of emotion.

"

Nadal, most likely, was physically and mentally exhausted in the aftermath of his win at the French Open, where he wasn't remotely challenged until his finals match against Novak Djokovic. He had to battle the world No. 1, the elements and the expectations. And he accomplished it only to transition straight into another event right away—on grass, no less, which presented its own host of challenges.

As Nadal told the AFP, "I also played a lot of matches on clay this season, I am always a little tired after the French. There are adjustments—the speed of the court, how to hit the ball on grass."

In the grand scheme of things, how meaningful is this loss? Not very. In a way, it was to be expected, given Nadal's history at Halle and the toll taken by his performance over the last two weeks at Roland Garros.

It's not like this was a major. It's not like it was on clay. Nadal will simply have to shrug and move on from this like it's no big deal. He has bigger things to think about. Like Wimbledon.