But any hope that Nadal, who turns 30 this year, can revive the glory days when he ruled tennis were blown away in the first round by compatriot Fernando Verdasco, who roared to a 7-6(6) 4-6 3-6 7-6(4) 6-2 triumph.
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Fernando Verdasco showed Spanish Tennis star Rafael Nadal the exit door from the Australian Open by beating him in a clash at Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday.
Again Nadal edged ahead with an early break in the fifth, but it was Verdasco who strung together six games in a row, including two breaks of serve, to seal victory in four hours and 41 minutes.
Verdasco, who rallied from 2-0 down early in the fifth and deciding set as he unleashed a total of 90 winners, told reporters he did not believe he would have another opportunity to square off against Nadal Down Under.
Verdasco will now play Israel’s Dudi Sela in round two and may feel a sense of justice after he lost a classic five-set contest with Nadal in the 2009 Australian Open semi-finals.
“I’m more excited than nervous now”, Murray said of the pending arrival. “I was just closing the eyes and everything was coming in”, he said as quoted from Daily Mail. I didn’t know how.
“Obviously that match gave me the chance to win the only Australian Open that I have won”, Nadal said.
The big upsets at least provided relief from match-fixing revelations which hit the start of the tournament after a report said top players had been under suspicion but never punished. He shed light on the fact that many of his opponents were playing “crazy” go-for-broke tennis and trying to hit winners from any position.
“I didn’t really think I would have another match five sets against Rafa here in Australia”.
Nadal, who was aiming to end his major drought since June 2014, lost a close first-set in the tie-breaker to Verdasco.
“I kept doing it so it went well”.
“I have played a lot against lefties, so we’ll see”, Nadal said.
She reached the quarterfinals at the Australian and U.S. Opens – the first and last majors of the year.
“It was very hot today so I was very glad to get it done in straight sets”.
There was also a shock overnight in the Women’s draw.
Williams, 35, was defeated in the first round by Johanna Konta of Britain.
Australian favourite Lleyton Hewitt extended his career by another match after he beat compatriot James Duckworth 7-6 (7/5) 6-2 6-4.
Of course at the beginning of the fifth I was thinking about that semi-final.
No. 13 Milos Raonic followed up his win over Roger Federer in the final of the Brisbane International tune-up event with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over Lucas Pouille.
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The former world number one has had a near-flawless start to the season, winning the exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi before reaching the final of the Qatar Open in Doha.
