Rafael Nadal: What Stunning Loss to Lukas Rosol Says About Rafa

In what New York Times scribe Christopher Clarey is calling "perhaps the biggest upset in the past decade of men’s tennis," second-seeded Rafael Nadal was unceremoniously bounced from Wimbledon 2012 in the second round Thursday by qualifier Lukas Rosol in a grueling five-set match, 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.

For the hard-serving Rosol, who is ranked No. 100 in the world and who had never won a match on grass before this year, Thursday's victory is the win of a lifetime, a memory the 26-year-old Czech will never forget.

However, the more important question, and the one that you will most likely see, hear and read get beaten to death over the next few days, is what does this stunning defeat say about Nadal, the world's second-ranked player and one of the game's all-time greats?

Simply put, it says he's human.

That can be easy to forget given the stranglehold that the 26-year-old Spaniard and Novak Djokovic have had over the finals of Grand Slam tournaments recently. It can be even easier to forget given Nadal's recent seventh French Open title, a venue at which Nadal is less man and more opponent-destroying, clay-chewing tennis machine.

With that said, even the greatest of players have off days, days when whether due to injury, mental lapses, or just plain bad luck those greats are just not on top of their game. Those days open the door for players like Rosol to take advantage and stage an upset, and Nadal opened the door even further by allowing his emotions to get the best of him.

According to The Times, Nadal grew increasingly frustrated as Rosol began to assert control over the match, complaining to the chair umpire about "noises" Rosol was making and going so far as to reportedly bump Rosol during a change of sides.

Noises, Rafa? Really? Have you ever seen a women's tennis match? They practically scream at one another the entire time.

The Telegraph also reports Nadal's frustration only mounted as the match continued, especially after Rosol broke Nadal's serve in the third game of the third set: "It was after that disappointment that Nadal again started his animated chat with the umpire and, with his focus clearly absent, he fell two sets to one behind, chuntering about something being 'not fair.'"

Nadal stormed back to win the fourth set, but then something else happened to draw Nadal's ire and throw him off his game. As darkness descended on the All England Tennis Club, play was halted for 45 minutes so the roof could be closed, a development that, according to ESPN, left Nadal "shaking his head and frowning when advised of the situation by an official."

Noises? Bumping a player? "Not fair"? Shaking his head? With all due respect, grow up, Rafa.

Make no mistake, Rafael Nadal is a tremendously gifted tennis player, as aptly demonstrated by his 11 Grand Slam tournament titles. He also didn't necessarily play poorly Thursday, either (only 16 unforced errors), although he didn't play at the level we've come to (perhaps unreasonably) expect from him either.

Nadal simply ran into an opponent who was playing the match of his life, and then he compounded the problem when instead of rising to the occasion he chose to grouse about it.

If there's a lesson to be learned from today, both by tennis fans and Rafael Nadal himself, it's that everyone's human. We all get frustrated, and that frustration can cause you to lose focus if you're not careful.

The problem is that if that happens during Wimbledon then odds are you're toast.

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