Rafael Nadal is out of the Australian Open following a surprising first round exit to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco who came from two sets to one down to beat the world number five. This was a repeat of their epic 2009 semi-final which Nadal prevailed in five, and this match would go the full distance again, although the outcome was different as Verdasco exacted his revenge.
Murray eases into the next round
No such problems for Andy Murray as he made a winning start to his quest for his first Australian Open title as he defeated German teenager Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2, 6-3. Murray, a four time runner-up in Melbourne, was never threatened by his 18-year old opponent and will now face big-serving home favourite Sam Groth in the second round, as he overcame Adrian Mannarino in four sets.
Also safely through is 2014 champ Stan Wawrinka who, like Murray, had no problems in making his way into round two, defeating Dmitry Tursunov. The opening set saw the French Open champion having to save a set point, before coming through in a tiebreak. Set two was much more comfortable, before Tursunov retired before the third set got underway; for Stan the Man he'll next face Radek Stepanek.
As Murray progressed, fellow Brits Aljaz Bedene and Dan Evans fell at the first hurdle as they lost to seeded Steve Johnson and Feliciano Lopez respectively; Bedene going down 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to the American, Evans losing 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 to the Spaniard.
Elsewhere, Lleyton Hewitt won his first match of his 20th and final Australian Open, a straight sets victory saw him defeat another Aussie in the form of James Duckworth. Runner-up on home soil eleven years ago, Hewitt will retire at the end of the tournament and the last match of his career will most likely come on Thursday, with 8th seed David Ferrer awaiting in round two, although "Rusty" certainly won't go down without a fight.
Results:
Andy Murray (2) bt Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2, 6-3
Stan Wawrinka (4) bt Dmitry Tursunov 7-6, 6-3r
Fernando Verdasco bt Rafael Nadal (5) 7-6, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2
David Ferrer (8) bt Peter Golowczyk 6-4, 6-4, 6-2
John Isner (10) bt Jerzy Janowicz 6-3, 7-6, 6-3
Rajeev Ram bt Kevin Anderson (11) 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 3-0r
Milos Raonic (13) bt Lucas Pouille 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
Bernard Tomic (16) bt Denis Istomin 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Feliciano Lopez (18) bt Dan Evans 6-1, 6-0, 6-4
Gilles Muller bt Fabio Fognini (20) 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6
Viktor Troicki (21) bt Daniel Munoz de la Nava 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, 6-3
Gael Monfils (23) bt Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 6-3, 6-2
Jack Sock (25) bt Taylor Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4
Jeremy Chardy (30) bt Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 2-6, 6-7, 6-3, 13-11
Steve Johnson (31) bt Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4, 7-6
Joao Sousa (32) bt Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
Lleyton Hewitt bt James Duckworth 7-6, 6-2, 6-4
Sam Groth bt Adrian Mannarino 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Dudi Sela bt Benjamin Becker 6-1, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2
Andrey Kuznetsov bt Ryan Harrison 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
Nicolas Mahut bt Marco Cecchinato 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
Stephane Robert bt Bjorn Fratangelo 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
Tommy Robredo bt Malek Jaziri 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6, 8-6
Tim Smyczek bt Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Lukas Rosol bt Taro Daniel 7-6, 7-5, 5-7, 6-7, 6-1
Radek Stepanek bt Tatsuma Ito 6-4, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2
Thomaz Bellucci bt Jordan Thompson 6-2, 6-3, 6-2
Guido Pella bt Steve Darcis 2-6, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-1
Marcel Granollers bt Matthew Ebden 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
Simone Bolleli bt Brian Baker 7-6, 7-6, 6-7, 7-6
John Millman bt Diego Schwartzman 3-6, 5-7, 7-6, 5-0r
Santiago Giraldo bt Donald Young 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2