Rafael Nadal crashes out of Australian Open in first round

Nadal was knocked out in the opening round at the hands of Fernando Verdasco

World number five Rafael Nadal suffered a major blow as he was knocked out in the opening round of the Australian Open at the hands of Fernando Verdasco on Tuesday.

Verdasco smacked 87 winners to claim a 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 triumph over the Spaniard in the opening round contest, that lasted for four hours and 41 minutes, to progress through to the second round of the tournament.

With the win, Verdasco has set-up a second-round clash with 87th-ranked Israeli Dudi Sela.

Meanwhile, eighth-seed David Ferrer also advanced to the next round after outclassing German Peter Gojowczyk 6-4, 6-4,6-2 in the first round.