Wimbledon's giant-slayers

Football fans may be raving over the unpredictability of this year's World Cup, but tennis fans are also having their fair share of mouth-watering upsets at the Wimbledon Championships, which ends on July 6.

We pick five of the best upsets and tell you about the players that made history.

Tennis1 0

Grigor Dimitrov, 23, Bulgaria
World ranking: 13

Before his cool and precise demolition of Wimbledon's defending champion Andy Murray on July 2, Dimitrov was probably best known for being the other-half of glamorous tennis queen Maria Sharapova, and the former beau of current world No. 1 Serena Williams.

Now it looks like the player, who was born in Haskovo in southern Bulgaria, is finally gaining recognition for his steady climb to the top, culminating in a stunning 6-1 7-6 6-2 defeat of Murray in the quarter-finals. This makes Dimitrov the first Bulgarian man throught to a Grand Slam semi-final.

Turning pro in 2008, Dimitrov has climbed from a world ranking of 287 in 2009 to his current rank of 13. His debonair good looks don't hurt either, and add to that the promise he showed as a 2008 Junior Wimbledon and US Open champion and you've got a winner.

It's time to move past his nickname Baby Fed, coined by his then Swedish coach Peter Lundgren for supposedly being even better than 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grigor.dimitrov.site

Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrigorDimitrov

Instagram account: http://instagram.com/grigordimitrov

Tennis2

Nick Kyrgios, 19, Australia
World ranking: 144

The hitherto unknown teenager defeated reigning world No. 1 Rafael Nadal in a gutsy display of inspired tennis on July 1, upsetting the King of Clay 7-6 5-7 7-6 6-3 in the fourth round.

His victory marked the first time since 1992 that a man ranked outside the top 100 had beaten a world No. 1. In an ironic imitation of history, Kyrgios is also the first teenager to defeat a world No. 1 since Nadal beat Federer in the 2005 French Open semi-finals.

Kyrgios was born in Canberra to a Greek-Australian father and Malaysian mother (from Kuala Lumpur). Now residing in Melbourne, he had only won three career matches on the ATP tour before entering Wimbledon. He had already raised eyebrows when he beat world No. 14 Richard Gasquet before meeting Nadal in the fourth round. Even then, his mother Norlaila talked down his chances against Nadal - which reportedly fired him up and made him want to beat Nadal.

No matter that the 1.93m-tall player was eventually beaten in the quarter-finals by Canada's Milos Raonic 6-7 6-2 6-4 7-6 on July 2. Australia's The Daily Telegraph has already proclaimed him "our latest Wimbledon Wunderkind - a Greek-Australian god".

Website: http://nickkyrgios.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nkyrgios/info

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NickKyrgios

Tennis3

Eugenie Bouchard, 20, Canada
World ranking: 13

At just 20 years old, the former 2012 junior Wimbledon champion from Montreal, Quebec is already being touted as one of the brightest talents on the women's tour.

Tall, blond and good-looking, she recalls glamour girl Sharapova. And like her idol, the world No. 13 also plays impressive tennis. She upset Angelique Kerber in the quarter-finals 6-3 6-4 to book her third straight Grand Slam semi-final against third seed Simona Halep on July 3.

Bouchard's victory over Kerber also makes her the first woman since 2009 to reach a hat-trick of grand slam semi-finals.

Her mother is a fan of the British royals, naming her and her twin sister after Prince Andrew's daughters, Eugenie and Beatrice. Her brother is named after Prince William. Bouchard also has a dedicated fan club called the "Genie Army".

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Eugenie-Bouchard/199243406766349

Twitter: https://twitter.com/geniebouchard

Tennis4

Angelique Kerber, 26, Germany
World ranking: 7

It was an unexpected win for the German world No. 7 over world No. 5 Maria Sharapova in the fourth round on July 1. After all, Sharapova was a hot favourite to win her second Wimbledon title, after Serena Williams was knocked out in the third round.

Kerber fought tooth-and-nail to defeat Sharapova 7-6 4-6 6-4 in the fourth round, making just 11 unforced errors in a match that lasted for more than two and a half hours.

Kerber was herself later upset by rising Canadian star Eugenie Bouchard 6-3 6-4 in the quarter-finals on July 2, but her victory over Sharapova is one of the highlights of her career.

Born in Bremen, north-western Germany, to Polish-German parents, Kerber can speak three languages fluently - German, Polish and English.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AngeliqueKerberOfficial

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AngeliqueKerber

Tennis5

Alize Cornet, 24, France
World ranking: 24

The Frenchwoman from Nice pulled off one of the best wins of her career by downing 17-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams 1-6 6-3 6-4 in the third round on June 28. But perhaps a victory was already in the cards - she had defeated Williams in straight sets at the Dubai Open in February.

Cornet's triumph over Williams equals her best Grand Slam showing thus far, and is a much-needed boost to her career.

Before her win, Cornet had failed to beat a top 20 player at a Grand Slam in 13 attempts and used to hate playing on grass, winning just 10 of her 25 matches on the surface. She's also a big admirer of retired American tennis player Andy Roddick and a fan of The Lord Of The Rings movies.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alizecornet

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alizecornet

Instagram: http://instagram.com/alizecornet

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