The transition from French clay to English grass proved beyond Rafael Nadal on Thursday when his unlikely Wimbledon challenge was cut short in the second round by Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.
The 19-year-old Roland Garros champion had talked down his chances of repeating his awesome claycourt form on the All England Club's slick lawns, and so it proved, as he slid to a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat.
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In their only previous meeting earlier this year in Barcelona, the 69th-ranked Muller managed just two games in a resounding claycourt lesson.
The contrast this time could not have been more extreme as Nadal's fiercely top-spinned groundstrokes dug harmlessly into the lush green grass.
Muller, whose play is as erratic as it is spectacular, found the surface much more to his liking.
Striking the ball sweetly off both sides he had Nadal on the run constantly, the fourth seed struggling to execute his trademark claycourt slides.
Only briefly did Nadal's game sparkle, producing some dipping winners to break the Muller serve on his way to taking the second set.
It proved a false dawn.
He never looked at ease against an inspired opponent who on Tuesday became the first man from Luxembourg to progress past the first round of a grand slam tournament when Spain's Felix Mantilla retired in their first round encounter.
Nadal tamely surrendered his serve with a costly double fault at 3-4 in the third set, allowing Muller to serve out for a two sets to one lead.
The 22-year-old captured another crucial break of serve in the sixth game of the fourth set, leaving the normally tenacious Nadal, looking suddenly dispirited.
Muller then held his nerve to claim the win and book a third-round meeting with another teenage whizz-kid, France's Richard Gasquet.
