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SPORTS Tuesday 11 July 2017
2-time champ Nadal loses 15-13 in 5th set at Wimbledon

By HOWARD FENDRICH was postponed until Tues-
AP Tennis Writer day; it had been sched-
LONDON (AP) — Rafael uled for No. 1 Court after
Nadal kept getting pushed Nadal-Muller concluded.
to the brink of defeat. He But that duo played on
kept resisting. and on, past 8 p.m., when
He dropped the first two the descending sun’s re-
sets, then won the next flection off the arena both-
two. He erased two match ered Nadal so much that
points in the riveting fifth he held up action; chair
set’s 10th game, then an- umpire Ali Nili asked spec-
other two in its 20th game. tators to stand in the way
Only when his fourth-round and block the rays. A few
match against 16th-seed- games later, Nili told fans
ed Gilles Muller of Luxem- to stop doing the wave,
bourg stretched past 4½ suggesting they wait for
hours, the sunlight fading, the next changeover so
did Nadal blink. play could proceed.
After repeatedly digging Hours earlier came what
himself out of difficult situ- might be interpreted as a
ations, Nadal finally suc- bad omen for Nadal: Go-
cumbed, broken in the last ing through his prematch
game of a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, rituals on the way to the
15-13 loss to Muller on Mon- court, he jumped up so
day. high that he banged his
“I played with the right de- head on the doorway’s
termination, right passion, transom. He staggered
right attitude,” Nadal said, back a bit, then tried to
“to win the match.” Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller returns to Spain’s Rafael Nadal during their Men’s Singles Match on laugh it off, before rubbing
But he could not pull day seven at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London Monday, July 10, 2017. the top of his head.
through, extending his Associated Press “Maybe that’s why the
drought without a quarter- first two sets I was winning
final berth at the All Eng- Nadal’s exits at the All Eng- the top five. And he’d only fore facing 2014 U.S. Open quite easy,” Muller joked.
land Club to six years. land Club have come in reached a Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic in “Maybe still a little bit feel-
“Just tried to hang in there,” the first round (2013), sec- quarterfinal once before, Wednesday’s quarterfinals. ing dizzy.”
Muller said. “Still kept be- ond round (2012, 2015) or at the 2008 U.S. Open. Other men’s quarterfinals: After all, until Monday,
lieving. Yeah, somehow in fourth round (2014, 2017). Nadal said Muller’s power- defending champion Andy Nadal hadn’t lost a Grand
the end, I made it.” All of those losses, except ful serve and crisp volleys Murray against Sam Quer- Slam set since the fifth of
Nadal won two of his 15 Monday’s, came against make him “uncomfort- rey of the U.S., Roger Fe- the Australian Open final
Grand Slam champion- men ranked 100th or worse. able” to play. derer against Milos Raonic, in January against Feder-
ships at Wimbledon, and The 34-year-old Muller is not Now Muller, who also beat Tomas Berdych against er. From the outset of the
played in the final three exactly a giant-killer: He Nadal at Wimbledon in Novak Djokovic or Adrian French Open — where he
other times, most recently had lost 22 consecutive 2005, will get a much-need- Mannarino. The Djokovic- won a record 10th cham-
in 2011. But since then, matches against players in ed chance to recover be- Mannarino fourth-rounder pionship last month —
and through his first three
Garcia says she didn’t notice if her father was coaching her matches at Wimbledon,
Nadal won 28 consecutive
completed sets at the ma-
LONDON (AP) — Caroline Garcia’s father, Louis Paul, he held up one hand and times maybe he tried jors. Healthy and playing
Garcia insisted she did not is also her coach. He was grabbed the thumb with (coaching), but I don’t terrifically, Nadal seemed
see her father signaling to shown on television giv- his other hand. know. I don’t think so.” poised to again be a fac-
her from the coaching box ing what appeared to be Coaches are not supposed The sixth-seeded Konta, tor at the All England Club.
during her fourth-round loss hand signals, including an to communicate with play- who will face Simona Ha- Don’t forget: From 2006-11,
to Johanna Konta at Wim- “X’’ with his two index fin- ers during matches. lep in the quarterfinals, said he reached the final in five
bledon on Monday. gers. On another occasion, “You probably saw way she didn’t notice Louis Paul consecutive Wimbledon
better than me because Garcia during the match. (he missed it in 2009 be-
the TV is focused on him. “I’m looking to stay very cause of bad knees), win-
But when I watch my dad, much focused on myself, ning titles in 2008 and 2010.
I just turn my head to him, what I’m looking to achieve After losing two sets in the
nothing more,” said the out there,” said Konta, the opening 75 minutes against
first British woman to reach Muller, Nadal adjusted. He
Caroline Garcia of France the Wimbledon quarter- stepped a little farther be-
celebrates after winning a finals since 1984. “Again, hind the baseline to give
point against Britain’s Jo- that’s an umpire’s duty to,
hanna Konta during their I guess, be aware of things himself more time to react.
Women’s Singles Match on He also fared better on his
day seven at the Wimbledon like that.” own serve, finishing with 23
Tennis Championships in Lon- Caroline Garcia said that aces, an unusually high to-
don Monday, July 10, 2017. whatever coaching her fa- tal for Nadal and only sev-
Associated Press ther may have been trying en fewer than Muller.
wouldn’t be abnormal de- So they headed to a fifth set,
21st-seeded Garcia, who spite prohibitions and that which was masterful, filled
lost 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4. “Some- he is “like 100 percent of with brilliance from both.q
the coaches on tour.”q