12 for '12: Upsets of the Year

Peter Bodo continues his year-end awards—12 in all, for 2012—with the Tournament of the Year. You can see rest of his selections as well as the upcoming awards at the end of this article.

Women: French Open, first round: No. 111 Virginie Razzano d. No. 5 Serena Williams, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3

Serena may remember this match as the one that lit a fire under her for the rest of the year (and some fire it was; Williams lost just once following this defeat). But at the time it was about as painful as it gets for a credentialed champion. It was Williams’ first loss in the first round of a Grand Slam tournament—ever.  

Unlike the men’s Upset of the Year, for a long time this match seemed destined to be an easy win for the favorite. Serena won the first set and led the second set tiebreaker, 5-1. But then she inexplicably lost six straight points, leveling the match at a set apiece, all the while looking alternately distraught, angry, disbelieving, and truculent. It was the beginning of the end.  

In the final set, after angrily stomping and glaring her way to an 0-5 deficit, Serena suddenly fell calm and poised, and began to dig her way out of that huge hole, eventually getting back to 3-5 with a service hold. But in short order, Razzano earned a match point. Who would have guessed that it was just a prelude to nearly 20 minutes of see-sawing fortunes, in which Razzano would have seven more match points and Serena would squander a handful of break points? It was a 30-point game featuring 12 deuces, and it ended the match when Serena drove a backhand out.  

Those who believe in fate, or some manifestation of karma, might interpret this historic upset as a deferred reward for all that Razzano went through over the past 12 months. Eight days before the 2011 French Open, she lost her coach and fiancé, Stephane Vidal. Just 32, he succumbed to cancer after a nine-year battle. Razzano only played that 2011 tournament because Vidal wanted her to, but the distractions proved too much and she lost in the first round.  

A year later, Razzano scored a first-round triumph that simply can’t be topped and, raising and pumping her arms, she basked in the adulation of the stunned, jubilant French fans.  

Honorable Mention: U.S. Open, third round: No. 89 Laura Robson d. No. 9 Li Na, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2

While there were a number of comparable upsets in 2012, this one stands out for a number of reasons, starting with the glaring rankings differential. Also, Li was not just a high seed, she’s also a Grand Slam champion, with a game suited to the hard courts of Flushing Meadows. But most notably, Robson had upset former No. 1 and multiple Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters in the previous round. It was a lot to ask of the 18-year old to bounce back successfully after such a massive win—especially against a superior player like Li.

Men: Wimbledon, second round: Lukas Rosol d. No. 1 Rafael Nadal, 6-7 (9), 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

They truly were shots heard round the world—thundering, heavy, savagely crisp forehands and backhands that resonated under the roof of Centre Court so volubly that nobody who was there that evening could ever forget it. And they earned Rosol notoriety for recording one of the greatest upsets in Grand Slam tennis history. They also earned the 23-year-old Czech entry to a place he’d never been before—the third round at Wimbledon.  

Given that this would be the last match Nadal played in 2012 (after this loss, he decided to forgo the rest of the year in order to rest his tendinitis-plagued knees), it’s tempting to assign an outsized role in the outcome to Rafa’s physical condition. But that just can’t be done. He showed no sign of infirmity. If he was in pain, he played through it with no loss of form—as indicated by the way he snapped to life to win the fourth set after losing the second and third.  

Some Nadal fans felt their man was unfairly punished by a 43-minute delay caused by the decision to close the roof after that fourth set because of the fading light. It seemed to be a momentum killer for Nadal, while giving Rosol time to regroup and compose himself after he was heavily bombarded by wicked service returns and whiplash forehands. But had the fifth set gone differently, we’d be saying that the intermission gave Rosol way too much time to think about—and freak out over—what he was on the cusp of accomplishing.  

What can’t be disputed is that Nadal broke Rosol twice in that fourth set and seemed poised to pull off a dramatic five-set comeback win if given the opportunity. But the Czech was unyielding. As Nadal said later, “I played a great fourth set. (But) he came back [after the break to close the roof] and played unbelievable in the fifth.”  

It was an accurate assessment by a classy if stunned champion. But give Rosol full credit. He seized the initiative, breaking Nadal in the Spaniard’s first service game to give himself a cushion that eased his way. For the rest of the set, Rosol belted the ball so savagely, accurately, and consistently that the only question by the mid-point was, “Can he possibly keep this up?”  

He did. Nadal, who’s made a career out of refusing to lose, hung in there. But as the set went on you could see his apprehension grow. Everyone, including Rafa, knows that every once in a while, a player will enter that place called The Zone, where the ball looks as big as a basketball and the points seem to unfurl in slow motion, and there isn’t a darned thing you can do about it. You become an innocent bystander, caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.  

Sometimes players slip or are shoved out of The Zone for any number of reasons, but not on this evening in London. Rosol just rolled through Nadal, and his reaction demonstrated that he realized the magnitude of what had happened. He told the BBC: “I’m not just surprised, it's like a miracle. I never expected something like this.”  

Postscript: Rosol lost in the next round to Philipp Kohlschreiber. The Zone giveth, and The Zone taketh away.  

Honorable Mention: Davis Cup, first round: John Isner d. Roger Federer, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2

Who would have guessed that Isner could lose the first set on clay to the all-time Grand Slam singles champ and then sweep three straight sets—in an away tie on his least favorite surface? The American would back up the feat with comparable wins over Gilles Simon and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (also on clay, and away from home) in the next round.  

Honorable Mention: Paris Masters, third round: Jerzy Janowicz d. No. 3 seed Andy Murray, 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2

Janowicz, a 22-year-old qualifier who started the year ranked No. 221, blasted a path all the way to the final, where he lost to No. 5 seed David Ferrer. Among Janowicz’s other victims in Paris: Dmitry Tursunov, Kohlschreiber, Marin Cilic, Janko Tipsarevic and Simon.

12 for '12: Year-End Awards

**- Wednesday, November 28: Coaches of the Year

- Thursday, November 29: Doubles Performances of the Year  

- Friday, November 30: Tournaments of the Year  

- Saturday, December 1: Upsets of the Year  

- Sunday, December 2: Quotes of the Year  

- Monday, December 3: Feuds of the Year  

- Tuesday, December 4: Newcomers of the Year  

- Wednesday, December 5: Most Improved Players  

- Thursday, December 6: Biggest Disappointments  

- Friday, December 7: Comebacks of the Year  

- Saturday, December 8: Runner-Ups of the Year  

- Sunday, December 9: Stories of the Year**

**Player of the Year, Men: Novak Djokovic

Player of the Year, Women: Serena Williams**