Rafael Nadal played Wimbledon for the first time in 2003. It was, in fact, the first Grand Slam he played in his career. That time he reached the third round, adding his first two wins, and could not play in 2004 due to an injury. On his return to the All England Club in 2005 he only won one match before losing to Luxembourg´s Gilles Muller, a defeat that ushered in the Spaniard´s best years in London.
In 2006, when Nadal already had two Roland Garros in his pocket, the first final came. He lost it in four sets against Roger Federer, but the change of crown was already close. In 2007, another final and another loss in the final. This time in five sets. One more step.
And 2008 arrived, the year of the change of command. Nadal beat Federer in one of the best matches in the history. Two sets ahead for the Spanish player who neutralized the Swiss saving two match points in the tie break, one of them with an incredible backhand passing. In the fifth, Nadal prevailed with the night practically closed in London. One of the best stories of the Balearic´s career, who became number one in the world a few weeks later when he won Olympic gold in Beijing.
In 2009 the knee did not let him compete, but in 2010 he repeated the title, with victory against Tomas Berdych in the final. And in 2011 he reached the final, but Novak Djokovic stopped him, who won his first tittle here. Nadal added five finals in five participations and has not returned to fight for the tittle since then.
His darkest time began at Wimbledon. In 2012 he lost in the second round with Lukas Rosol. In 2013 in the first round with Steve Darcis. In 2014 with Nick Kyrgios in the round of 16 and in 2015 in the second round with Dustin Brown. His worst years in London. In 2016 he declined to participate due to physical problems and in 2017 he improved his level, until Giller Muller stopped him int he second round.
2018 and 2019 are his last participations here, both settle in the semifinals. Four years ago, he lost in a great game with Djokovic. A controversial match, because it was plated indoors on Friday and, despite the fact that it was sunny, the restart on Saturday was also played indoors. Conditions that clearly harmed the Spanish.
Jorge Barbero
