Rafa Nadal loses in first round, only second time in a Grand Slam

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – The days of an entire stadium backing Rafael Nadal are over.

The crowd at the packed Rod Laver Arena was heavily in favor of underdog Fernando Verdasco as he charged through a deciding fifth set on Tuesday. Many stood as Verdasco and Nadal took their places for what proved to be the final game, cheering for Verdasco to pull off the break and close out the win.

He obliged, finishing with a 7-6, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2 victory. The difference in the match was obvious: Nadal hit 37 winners. Verdasco had 90. Verdasco had 20 aces to Nadal’s seven. Nadal stayed in the match so long partially because of Verdasco’s 91 unforced errors – but he didn’t do enough to capitalize. Otherwise, their stats were nearly even.

Verdasco was an underdog on the draw sheet and in their overall head-to-head (Nadal held a 14-2 advantage), but he’d taken Nadal to five sets in their only previous Australian Open meeting, too, when they faced off in the 2009 semi-finals here. That was the year Nadal went on to win his lone title in Melbourne. 

Nadal came into the tournament ranked No. 5, returning to the Top 10 after a disappointing 2015 season in which he failed to win a Grand Slam title for the first time in any season since 2005. This the first time he’s lost in the first round of the Australian Open, and only the second time he’s lost in the first round of any major. 

With the loss, he’s the first Top 5 seed to lose in the first round of this tournament since 2007.