Match-fixing speculation also continued to reverberate on day two as more players revealed approaches after a BBC and BuzzFeed report said corruption was widespread in the sport. Tommy Robredo outlasted Malek Jaziri, Viktor Troicki erased a two-set deficit against Daniel Munoz De La Nava, Jack Sock edged fellow American Taylor Fritz, Lukas Rosol held off Taro Daniel, and Guido Pella came back from two sets down to beat Steve Darcis.
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A player who reached a career high No 7 in 2009, Verdasco, now ranked No 47, has only two settings, the ridiculous or the sublime, and the stats from yesterday’s match exemplified this perfectly: Verdasco hit 90 winners. Elsewhere it might be said that Verdasco looks too good to be No. 45 but maybe he’s No. 45 because you can’t do this all the time.
Nadal, who is trying to bounce back from a disappointing 2015, said he was disappointed he was unable to replicate his form in training when he played Verdasco, a Davis Cup teammate.
The Spaniard won his only Australian title in 2009 after overcoming Verdasco in a five hour 14 minute semi-final, a match that still ranks among the classics at Melbourne Park.
After winning the second and third sets comfortably, Nadal was just two points away from securing a win in the fourth set.
Williams lost 6-4, 6-2 to Johanna Konta, her eighth first-round loss at a major.
For Verdasco, his opening-round upset had to feel like sweet redemption.
Murray’s earlier encounter with teenager Alexander Zverev was delayed in the second game when the German suffered a nosebleed but the former Wimbledon champion’s path to the second round otherwise ran smoothly.
Konta, who reached the last 16 at the 2015 US Open, is the only British woman left in the singles draw following Heather Watson’s defeat on Monday.
Zhang, who plays Alize Cornet of France, broke into tears after her win. “So I was glad to get it done in straight sets”.
In the most newsworthy three-setter, Australian legend Lleyton Hewitt lived to see another day. “I’m so happy, so excited”.
Frustration over her play, on top of the fact that Williams will turn 36 years old this summer with her playing days numbered, makes for an angry woman.
“I wanted try one more time, only one more time, yeah”, she said.
It’s a new year, but the top dog of men’s tennis remains the same.
Seventh seed Angelique Kerber had to save a match point to stave off a fourth shock, rallying to beat Japan’s Misaki Doi 6-7(4) 7-6(6) 6-3, while third seed Garbine Muguruza beat Estonian Anett Kontaveit 6-0 6-4. Nadal entered this tournament playing well.
There were no such problems for Andy Murray though.
One thing to keep in mind: Federer was 21 when he won his first Grand Slam. If he remains injury free, no longer will a lack of match practice or fitness be deemed worthy excuses for defeats, not even against mavericks like Verdasco. She always helps the young players.
With Day 2 at the Aussie Open officially in the books, here is a full rundown of the key results that shaped the landscape of 2016’s first Grand Slam event Down Under.
“It was a tough situation, absolutely, to block out everything else that was going on”, Hewitt said, via Jai Bednall of News.com.au.
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“This is what I’m going to miss the most, the buzz from the crowd”, he said. Playing the final tournament of his illustrious career, Hewitt got the best of countryman James Duckworth 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4.
