Rafa Nadal was bundled out of the Australian Open first round on Tuesday, toppled by countryman Fernando Verdasco in a five-set marathon that left the centre court crowd stunned and the former world number one shattered.
The
7-6(6) 4-6 3-6 7-6(4) 6-2 loss was the 2009 champion's first in an opening
round at Melbourne Park and only his second first-round loss in a grand slam.
Leading
2-0 in the final set, Nadal was in the box seat to prevail in a highly physical
encounter, but world number 45 Verdasco dragged himself off the canvas to win
six straight games with a barrage of forehand winners.
"He
was playing amazing in the last set," a gutted Nadal told reporters.
"He had a lot of success with all the balls hitting full power in the
fifth.
"The
real thing is I was not aggressive enough with my forehand during the whole
match.” I didn't feel it. I tried. I fought. I was ready to do it, and I
didn't. So I am sad for that."
After
shaking hands with his opponent and the chair umpire Nadal strode quickly off
the court, barely pausing to acknowledge the crowd with a wave.
Nadal's
only other first-round defeat in a grand slam was against Belgium's Steve
Darcis at Wimbledon in 2013.
"It's
tough especially because it's not like (it) was here last year," added
Nadal, beaten by Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals last year when on a
comeback from injury.
"This
year was a completely different story, I had been playing and practising great
and working so much."
Verdasco
sealed the four hour and 41-minute classic in style, breaking Nadal's serve for
a third time in the set with a flashing crosscourt winner.
"I
just hit everything. I think I played unbelievable in the fifth set from the
break," Verdasco, beaten by Nadal in the 2009 semi-finals, said in a
courtside interview.
"I
just started hitting winners. I don't know how. I was closing the eyes and
everything when I was coming in."
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