Wimbledon 2012 Results: What's with All the Upsets in the Men's Draw?

Wimbledon 2012—just like any other tournament—has provided upsets and results that we could never have predicted or anticipated.

Yet despite the fact that upsets happen in every single tournament, this year's Grand Slam has still been somewhat of an anomaly, for the upsets that have taken place have been more unexpected than usual. 

In particular, the talent-filled men's draw has provided early exits for some of the biggest names in tennis—Tomas Berdych, John Isner and Rafael Nadal were all victims of a shock loss in the opening two rounds of the tournament.

The first two rounds of Wimbledon this year has seen 11 seeded players eliminated; thus the question becomes why are all the upsets happening this year?  What's the reasoning and answer to all the unlikely results taking place at Wimbledon?

First off, there are a number of potential answers that combined, could explain partly why the upsets are taking place this year.

There's the fact that the grass at Wimbledon is slowing up and not shooting through as much—meaning that players with the booming first serve aren't having the dominance that we'd expect. The elimination of Berdych, Isner, Lopez and Raonic would suggest that there is some merit behind this.

Then there's the point about the 2012 London Olympics and the fact that perhaps players have that international tournament on their mind more so than the current Grand Slam. 

Throw in to that mix the short turnaround from the French Open, which gave players less time to recover from any niggling injuries and adjust to the new environment and court setting.

Combined, there is an argument to be made that this year's Wimbledon tournament is one build on uncertainty and external factors which, in turn, could explain the apparent increase in upsets that we've seen so far.

But in reality, it isn't really a reason at all.

There is no real answer to why the upsets are taking place—none other than the fact that a drop-off in form was bound to happen some time in the future.

The big four in the men's field—Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray—have been so dominant over the last decade of men's tennis that we expect them to make it through to the semifinals of every Grand Slam they enter.

They are that good, that anything other than a finals appearance is considered an upset. 

Since 2006, they have won every Grand Slam final between them with one exception—the 2009 U.S. Open where Juan Martin Del Potro shocked the world by beating Roger Federer in the final. Other than that, they have won every Grand Slam in six years.

At Wimbledon, they have won every title since 2003; every title at the French Open since 2005. They have won seven of the past eight U.S. Open titles and eight of the past nine Australian Open titles.

In the past six years, they have contested the final between themselves on 17 occasions. That's seven finals in six years that have featured someone other than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer or Murray.

As far as success goes, their dominance over the field has been remarkable and as a result, have created such lofty expectations for themselves at Grand Slams tournaments. 

Simply put, we don't expect them to lose—we expect them to make the final and anything other than that is considered an upset. They have become victims of their own success.

So the answer to why the upsets are happening this year is simply a testament to the dominance and control that the Big Four have had over the men's tournament.

They have been that good and that dominant for so long that an 'upset' was bound to happen sometime in the future. Just like Federer against Del Potro in 2009, they simply cannot control the field for that long without an upset happening somewhere along the road.

Having said that, Federer, Djokovic and Murray could well contest the final between themselves and continue their incredible streak of Grand Slam dominance. 

Just don't be alarmed if it doesn't happen.

It doesn't mean they're slipping; it doesn't mean they're past it.

It simply means they're like every other tennis player in the history of the game and despite their dominance, are allowed to lose a match every now and again.

Will this year's Wimbledon provide something other than a Big Four victory?

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