Rafael Nadal loses to Gilles Muller in five-set battle at Wimbledon

Rafael Nadal has not made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon since 2011.

Rafael Nadal lost in the fourth round at Wimbledon to Luxembourg's Gilles Muller on Monday afternoon. Muller defeated Nadal, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 15-13 in a match that lasted more than four hours.

Nadal needed to reach the final at Wimbledon to surpass Andy Murray as the top-ranked player in the world.

Before Monday, Nadal led the all-time head-to-head series 5–1 with Muller's only win coming in the second round at Wimbledon in 2005. Nadal defeated Muller at Wimbledon in 2011 and reached the final before losing to Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard star has not made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon since 2011. He missed last year's tournament due to a wrist injury.

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Nadal's return from years of foot, knee and wrist injuries has been fairly successful this year. He reached the Australian Open final and then won the French Open to capture his 10th title at Roland Garros last month.