Rafael Nadal has to change his game says uncle, trainer

Author of “The Devil Wears Pinstripes” and victor of a Sports Emmy.

Verdasco was inspired, however, mixing 90 winners with 91 unforced errors as he gained partial revenge for his epic five-set defeat by Nadal seven years ago in the second longest match recorded at the Australian Open. And, he emphasizes, he has watched the entire match each time. It only means that he needs more time to come back to his top form. I was really shaking, because the sound of the lady falling was really loud.

He said: “I live to fight another couple days”. He had a full-time coach when he was eight and he turned professional in 2002, finishing as World No. 464. “I think I played unbelievable in the fifth set from the break”, Verdasco, beaten by Nadal in the 2009 semi-finals, said in a courtside interview.

“This year was a completely different story”. Obviously you get asked the same questions for quite a few months leading into this tournament, then it’s there, and you don’t fully know how you’re going to react until you’re out there on the match court.

Spain’s Rafael Nadal casts a shadow as he hits a shot during his first round match against Spain … But he has had knee issues and his career has been in decline.

This latest loss for the 29-year-old extends a Grand Slam dry spell which goes back to the 2014 French Open, and will increase fears over his long-term ability to compete at the elite level. He then made it to the semi-finals of Shanghai, and also set up a finals clash with Federer in the Swiss Indoors, where the Swiss won. At one point, his ranking slid to No. 10.

He improved at the end of the year and opened this season by losing to Djokovic in the Qatar Open final.

No. 7-seeded Kei Nishikori, the 2014 U.S. Open finalist, advanced to the third round in the men’s draw with a 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-3 win over Austin Krajicek of the United States. Nadal also has lost his dominance against Verdasco.

Nadal battled for four hours and 45 minutes with fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, but came out on the wrong end of the scoreboard.

“In terms of being competitive, I was competitive”.

“That can not happen when I am hitting my forehand”.

“Everybody now tries to hit all the balls”, said the 14-time Grand Slam victor. But Nadal committed a fatal double fault when it was 6-6 to give Verdasco the 7-6 lead. Verdasco hit 95 winners that night.

His forehand found angles on all sides of the court which had Nadal exasperated as the Spaniard lost in the first round of the Australian Open for the first time.

“That was the biggest issue for me today”, Nadal said. I’m still thinking about the Achilles injury … “I could hear it”, said Ivanovic, who looked on anxiously as the patron received treatment. He started breaking my serve.

It was the first opening round loss at the Australian Open for Nadal, who ended 2015 in positive fashion after making the finals in Beijing, Basel, and a semifinal exit at the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The first set on Tuesday was close but sloppy at times.

“First win – I’m so happy, so excited. He played better than me, more aggressive than me and he won”.

Nadal won his only Australian title in 2009 after beating Verdasco in the semifinals. Will he be able to win at Roland Garros this year, or anywhere else in the future in his pursuit of matching Federer’s 17 major titles?

“You never know what’s going on in the future”, Nadal said.

“It was very hot today so I was very glad to get it done in straight sets”.