Wimbledon 2017: Twitter reacts to Rafael Nadal’s epic defeat
Gilles Muller was able to pull off a phenomenal win on Monday afternoon over Rafael Nadal, winning in five sets with the final set going 15-13.
In one of the best sports events of the year, No. 16 Gilles Muller upended the fourth-seeded Rafael Nadal, taking him down with a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (15-13). In one of the longest matches in tennis history (and the longest of this tournament by a wide margin), Muller advanced to the quarterfinals while Nadal, a tw-time Wimbledon champion, was ousted.
To the surprise of no one, Twitter takes were flying around hot and heavy both during and after the match. Here’s a sampling of the chaos:
Well that was brilliant. Nadal is such a class act, so gracious in defeat but WHAT a performance from Muller 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎾 #Wimbeldon
— Dan Walker (@mrdanwalker) July 10, 2017
Wouldn't have been me shaking nadal hand after that he's been picking his arse all day
— Kenny McLean (@kennymclean66) July 10, 2017
What a match from Gilles Muller but kinda sad we won't be seeing more of Rafa Nadal at Wimbledon again this year 😢 #Wimbledon
— Anne Keothavong (@annekeothavong) July 10, 2017
https://twitter.com/SourceSyndicate/status/884497839098740736
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Nadal and Muller played for four hours and 48 minutes, with the Spaniard finally going down. Muller had never before won a Grand Slam title, but moves to within three victories of doing so. It would be shocking if he could pull it off, although with Nadal out of the draw and Novak Djokovic on a wonky schedule, it may be his best chance. At 34 years old, Muller is a true Cinderella story despite being ranked fairly high.
It’s also fair to wonder how many times Nadal can get back to this point in a major tournament. Playing on grass has always been a relative struggle for him, with the clay court being his specialty. At 31 years old, time might be running out to add to his eventual Hall of Fame career.