Wimbledon 2013: Rafael Nadal exits in first round after shock defeat to Belgium's Steve Darcis In five minutes shy of three hours, the tournament draw was flipped on its axis as Nadal, fresh from his eighth triumph at Roland Garros, succumbed 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 to fall at the first hurdle in his 35th major tournament. Where Nadal's eclipse 12 months ago in the second round by Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic had been shocking, this was an upset of seismic proportions as the 12-time grand slam champion beat a sad retreat on the opening day. There were worrying signs, too, of a return of a knee injury that forced an eight-month lay-off after last year's Wimbledon, with the Spaniard clearly limping throughout the third set. But this was to detract not at all from the performance of Darcis, a 29-year-old itinerant ranked 135th in the world, who ran high on inspiration to secure this extraordinary scalp. But these fans had precious little to smile about throughout this remarkable match. Darcis signalled his intent early, taking the first set to a tie-break and eventually sealing it with his sixth set point. The second followed in similar fashion as he found a destructive first serve whenever he needed it, plus a range of looping groundstrokes that befuddled the world No 5, who looked up imploringly towards his coach and uncle Toni. But there was to be no rescuing him in the third as he surrendered an early break. Not even Nadal's powers of escapology, it turned out, were enough to avert a defeat that reverberated throughout the men's game.