Nadal left shaking his head after stunning exit

Rafael Nadal was left shaking his head on Tuesday at the Australian Open after he suffered just his second first-round exit at a Grand Slam championship.

The 2009 champion and fifth seed insisted he felt competitive during his five-set loss to fellow Spaniard and left-hander Fernando Verdasco, but could not explain how he had failed to convert practice court form into a match situation.
“The match is a tough one to lose for me obviously,” said Nadal. “It’s not like last year, when I arrived here playing bad and not feeling ready for it. This year was a completely different story. I have been playing and practising great and working so much. It is tough when you work so much and arrived at a very important event and you’re going out too early.
“I know I did everything that I could to be ready for it. It was not my day. There is no more things to do other than keep practising hard and keep practising the same way that I have been doing for the past four, five months.”
Nadal led 2-0 in the fifth set, but Verdasco reeled off six games for a 7-6(6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 in four hours and 41 minutes.


Check the Nigerian Pilot newspaper for the full story.













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