MELBOURNE, Australia — Rafael Nadal lost in the first round of a major for only the second time in his career, beaten in five sets by Fernando Verdasco at the Australian Open in a reversal of their epic, 5-hour, 14-minute semifinal here seven years ago.
On Tuesday, Fernando Verdasco rallied from a 2-1 deficit and recovered a break in the fifth set to claim a 7-6 (6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 win in 4 hours and 41 minutes, only his third victory in 17 matches against his fellow Spanish lefthander.
Nadal won his only Australian title in 2009 after beating Verdasco in the semifinals.