Rafael Nadal lost in five sets to fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the first round of the Australian Open.

It always looked likely to be a tough match for Nadal against a player who, while now 32 years old, is a former top 10 player and still in the top 50.

And so it proved: the two players were evenly matched throughout, and Verdasco pulled away in the final set as Nadal's form began to wilt while his opponent kept on hitting the lines.

The defeat will raise fresh questions about Nadal's long-term future, the 14-times Grand Slam winner having suffered yet another setback as he continues to battle for form and fitness.

He showed signs of returning to the top at the end of last season, and made it to the final in Qatar at the beginning of January.

But a one-sided defeat at the hands of Novak Djokovic in that match, combined with this first-round exit in the opening match in Melbourne, suggest that his best days are now well in the past.

That will be a bitter pill to swallow for a man who stands alone as the only player in the history of tennis to go ten consecutive seasons winning at least one Grand Slam title a year.

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