Australian Open: Nadal Knocked Out in First Round

Former World Number One, Rafael Nadal, has been knocked out of the Australian Open after a first-round defeat to Fernando Verdasco in Melbourne. The 14-time Grand Slam winner fell to his fellow Spaniard 7-6 (8/6) 4-6 3-6 7-6 (7/4) 6-2, crashing out on the opening stage of the tournament for the first time. Nadal, who had lost two of the last three contests with Verdasco, dropped the opening set on a tie-breaker. However, the fifth seed came back into the match when he comfortably won the next two sets. Verdasco approached the fourth set fearlessly as he tested Nadal before the 2009 champion conceded the set in another tie-break. In the deciding fifth set, took an early 2-0 lead, but he would not add another game as Verdasco unloaded a barrage of forehands to propel his countryman towards an early exit. This latest setback has extended Nadal’s Grand Slam barren spell which goes back to the 2014 French Open. Verdasco, who fired 41 forehand winners in a total of 90 outright winners, said afterwards: “I just hit everything. I think I played unbelievable in the fifth set from the break. “I just started hitting winners. I don’t know how. I was closing the eyes and everything when I was coming in. I kept doing it, so it went well.”