In his pomp, Rafael Nadal had plenty of menacing weapons in his arsenal: physics-defying topspin, a deafening grunt, unrivaled stamina. But one tactical dark art often went unnoticed. The 22-time Grand Slam champion would often hijack the pre-match warm-up, ensuring his opponents never found their rhythm - a tactic Steve Darcis witnessed firsthand before his historic upset at Wimbledon in 2013

"It was frustrating in the beginning, because against Rafa in the warm-up, you don't play much tennis," the 41-year-old exclusively told Express Sport. "He's hitting with some much power. Even if he's smashing the ball two metres out, it doesn't matter to him. So when I started the match I was not really in the match - I wasn't really feeling the ball because he was playing so fast in the warm-up."

Although the tactic was undeniably effective, Darcis believes Nadal wasn't deliberately trying to unsettle him. "I have a feeling he's doing this to take pressure off himself, so he feels good with his arm," the Belgian said.

"As an opponent you have not much practice, so it's really tough. But I don't think he's doing it on purpose to do something bad, it's just his way. For me it's no problem."

After drawing Nadal in the first round at SW19, Darcis naturally expected an early exit. "I was thinking the same thing as everybody else might. It's a bad draw, I'm not going to be here [at Wimbledon] long, I'm soon going to be at home," he laughed.

"But then I thought to myself, I'm playing good, let's try and let's play my game, not his. I wanted to risk a little bit more, to go for it, because if you want to play the rally against Rafa you know you have no chance.

"I really tried to push myself to be a bit more aggressive. My game is also to play the rally, with my backhand slice, but against him I thought, okay, if I try to play long rallies I'm going to be dead physically. So I tried to be more aggressive."

The strategy paid off spectacularly. Darcis fought for every single point, matching the relentless intensity of the Spaniard, who had never before lost in the opening round of a Grand Slam. The underdog, ranked world No. 135 at the time, captured the first two sets in heart-thumping tiebreaks and then secured the third 6-4, completing one of the most astonishing upsets in Wimbledon history.

"After the first set, I thought if I lose in four sets it's already a good match. Then I go two sets to love and I think people will say if you lose in five it's really good," Darcis recalled. "Then I won the third set and I was really happy."

But that joy was short-lived. Midway through the contest, Darcis felt a sharp pain shoot through his shoulder. He pushed on through the discomfort, but shortly after the final point, he realised with dismay that the injury was serious.

"I couldn't lift my shoulder - I had a torn ligament," he explained. "I felt something was wrong. But the pain left after two games because of the adrenaline. But after the match I knew it was really bad, I couldn't move my arm."

The injury cast a shadow over what should have been one of the happiest weeks of his life. Just days after defeating Nadal, Darcis was forced to pull out of the tournament and would remain sidelined for an entire year after undergoing surgery.

"It was one of the best wins of my life, but it started one of the worst years," he said. "I beat Nadal, I saw the draw, I was playing good tennis and everything was fine, but during the interview afterwards I couldn't move my arm. I knew it would be difficult to continue.

"I tried everything to keep playing, injection, to have a small chance, but when my coach threw me the first ball of the practice two days after I couldn't hit the ball. It was bad. Mentally, I was feeling very bad."

Even with the setback that came afterward, Darcis' triumph over Nadal has permanently secured his place in Wimbledon lore as one of the tournament's most legendary giant-killers. Still, the Belgian hopes people will remember him for more than a single match.

"I don't like it so much," Darcis said when asked if he resented being known as 'the guy who beat Nadal'. "I played for 20 years. I won two ATP titles. I was for a long time in the top 100, I came back after injury and beat so many good guys.

"But people remember me as the guy who beat Nadal and I played well in the Davis Cup. That's it. It's true, but I would prefer to get remembered with something else. I understand, but it's not only those things."