Australian Open 2016: Tuesday Results, Highlights, Scores Recap from Melbourne
Day 2 at the 2016 Australian Open was highlighted by several upsets, as multiple high-profile players in both the men's and the women's draws were bounced from the first round of the tournament.
That included No. 5 Rafael Nadal, who couldn't overcome Spanish countryman Fernando Verdasco in a five-set classic. Also, on the women's side, a pair of major contenders were knocked out in the form of No. 8 Venus Williams and No. 2 Simona Halep.
Tuesday wasn't all bad for the big names, however, with No. 2 Andy Murray, No. 4 Stan Wawrinka and No. 14 Victoria Azarenka all picking up fairly routine, straightforward victories in Melbourne.
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With Day 2 at the Aussie Open officially in the books, here is a full rundown of the key results that shaped the landscape of 2016's first Grand Slam event Down Under.
Day 2 Men's Singles Results
| 1 | Fernando Verdasco | (5) Rafael Nadal | 7-6(6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 |
| 1 | (2) Andy Murray | Alexander Zverev | 6-1, 6-2, 6-3 |
| 1 | (4) Stan Wawrinka | Dmitry Tursunov | 7-6(2), 6-3, Ret. |
| 1 | Lleyton Hewitt | James Duckworth | 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-4 |
| 1 | (10) John Isner | Jerzy Janowicz | 6-3, 7-6(7), 6-3 |
| 1 | Rajeev Ram | (11) Kevin Anderson | 7-6(4), 6-7(4), 6-3, 3-0, Ret. |
| 1 | (8) David Ferrer | Peter Gojowczyk | 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 |
| 1 | (13) Milos Raonic | Lucas Pouille | 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 1 | (16) Bernard Tomic | Denis Istomin | 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 |
| 1 | (23) Gael Monfils | Yuichi Sugita | 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 |
| 1 | (25) Jack Sock | Taylor Fritz | 6-4, 3-6, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| 1 | Gilles Muller | (20) Fabio Fognini | 7-6(6), 7-6(7), 6-7(5), 7-6(1) |
| 1 | (18) Feliciano Lopez | Daniel Evans | 6-1, 6-0, 6-4 |
| 1 | (31) Steve Johnson | Aljaz Bedene | 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3) |
| 1 | (32) Joao Sousa | Mikhail Kukushkin | 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 |
| 1 | (30) Jeremy Chardy | Ernests Gulbis | 7-5, 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-3, 13-11 |
Day 2 Women's Singles Results
| 1 | Zhang Shuai | (2) Simona Halep | 6-4, 6-3 |
| 1 | Johanna Konta | (8) Venus Williams | 6-4, 6-2 |
| 1 | (3) Garbine Muguruza | Anett Kontaveit | 6-0, 6-4 |
| 1 | (14) Victoria Azarenka | Alison Van Uytvanck | 6-0, 6-0 |
| 1 | (15) Madison Keys | Zarina Diyas | 7-6(5), 6-1 |
| 1 | (9) Karolina Pliskova | Kimberly Birrell | 6-4, 6-4 |
| 1 | (20) Ana Ivanovic | Tammi Patterson | 6-2, 6-3 |
| 1 | (19) Jelena Jankovic | Polona Hercog | 6-3, 6-3 |
| 1 | (7) Angelique Kerber | Misaki Doi | 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-3 |
| 1 | (21) Ekaterina Makarova | Maddison Inglis | 6-3, 6-0 |
| 1 | (30) Sabine Lisicki | Petra Cetkovska | 6-4, 6-4 |
| 1 | Barbora Strycova | (32) Caroline Garcia | 6-2, 6-4 |
| 1 | (11) Timea Bacsinszky | Katerina Siniakova | 6-3, 7-5 |
| 1 | (18) Elina Svitolina | Victoria Duval | 6-2, 6-3 |
| 1 | Johanna Larsson | (29) Irina-Camelia Begu | 6-3, 6-2 |
| 1 | Varvara Lepchenko | (31) Lesia Tsurenko | 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 |
Nadal Ousted By Verdasco
Seven years after Nadal defeated Verdasco in a five-hour thriller to advance to the 2009 Australian Open final, the script was flipped on Day 2 of the 2016 Aussie Open.
The stakes weren't quite as high since it was a first-round match, but that didn't make Verdasco's performance any less impressive, as he ousted the No. 5 seed in a 7-6(6), 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 marathon at Rod Laver Arena.
As seen in this video, courtesy of the Australian Open's official Twitter account, it was an emotional victory for Verdasco considering his history of coming so close against Rafa in the past:
Nadal seemed well on his way to winning the match after taking the second and third sets, but Verdasco was able to hang in, and he managed to take a fourth-set tiebreak in order to push the match to a decisive fifth set.
Verdasco played like a man possessed in the final set, taking it 6-2 as seemingly every big shot he went for worked to great effect.
It was such a dominant performance with the match on the line that even Verdasco surprised himself with how well he played:
Nadal gave his opponent full marks for persevering and coming out on top, but he felt as though he could have done more to make life difficult for Verdasco over the course of the contest, according to ATPWorldTour.com:
"He had a lot of success hitting every ball at full power in the fifth. I have to congratulate him. But I am not happy about the way that I played the first set. In the fourth I was not very bad, but he played better than me, too. I had my chances in the fourth, too. He played better than me. He played more aggressive than me. He took more risks than me, and he won. Probably he deserved it.
"
While there is no question Rafa has fallen off the pace a bit over the past couple of years when compared to the world's elite players, such as Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Murray and Wawrinka, a first-round exit is still a major shock.
Nadal's worst Australian Open performance previously was a third-round defeat in 2004, and he hadn't gotten knocked out prior to the quarterfinals since 2005, which puts into perspective just how far the 29-year-old veteran has fallen.
Although winning his second career Aussie Open title would have been a tall order considering how well the top four seeds are playing, Tuesday's loss was a significant setback for Nadal in his quest to return to the top of the sport.
He still has a chance to contend at the French Open in May due to his career-long dominance on clay, but unless he makes some marked improvements in the coming months, it isn't outside the realm of possibility that Nadal could suffer a similar fate at Roland Garros.
Venus Upset in Straight Sets
There were high expectations for Williams entering the Australian Open after working her way back in the Top 10 by virtue of a strong 2015, but 2016 certainly didn't get off to an ideal start for the seven-time Grand Slam champion.
The 35-year-old veteran dropped a 6-4, 6-2 decision to Great Britain's Johanna Konta, which opened up the women's bracket in a big way.
Although Williams only has one Aussie Open final appearance to her credit and hasn't advanced past the quarterfinals since 2003, her power always makes her a threat on hard courts.
The 5'11" Konta was able to neutralize Williams with some power of her own, though, and it was enough to give the 24-year-old perhaps the biggest win of her career.
Konta's victory came as a surprise to many, but she may have even shocked herself based on her comments after the match:
There are still some major American hopes in the women's draw in the form of Serena Williams and Madison Keys, but Venus' early exit was certainly a big blow to the Stars and Stripes.
With Venus now being closer to 40 than 30, her opportunities to make deep runs and vie for titles at Grand Slams are likely beginning to run out.
She still figures to be a threat at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open later in the year based on her track record, but her poor performance in Melbourne could be a harbinger of things to come.
Halep Shocked By Zhang
Halep has been among the most consistent players in women's tennis over the past two years, but that was far from apparent Tuesday, as she was surprisingly defeated by world No. 133 Zhang Shuai.
The Chinese underdog had very few problems against the No. 2 seed in what was a fairly dominant 6-4, 6-3 triumph.
According to WTA director of content and publications Kevin Fischer, Halep's loss was the biggest women's first-round upset at the Australian Open in nearly 40 years:
After making at least the quarterfinals in a Grand Slam five times in 2014 and 2015 combined, few could have expected Halep to be sent packing so early.
The 24-year-old Romanian has yet to win a Grand Slam title, but she has been on the cusp on several occasions, whereas as Zhang had never won a single Grand Slam match prior to her shocking victory on Day 2.
Per the Australian Open on Twitter, the fact that Zhang was such a huge underdog worked to her advantage in her mind:
After so many struggles in big matches at Grand Slam tournaments for nearly a decade, the 26-year-old made it clear just how big Tuesday's win was for her:
While Zhang was elated, Halep was understandably disappointed with her performance against a player most expected her to beat handily.
According to WTA Insider, Halep believed the loss dealt a major blow to her psyche:
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam at which Halep hasn't advanced past the quarterfinals, so the fact she didn't make a deep run isn't necessarily out of the ordinary.
A first-round exit is an entirely different story, though, and one cannot help but wonder how difficult it will be for her to shake it off and return to form for the remainder of the 2016 campaign.
Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.
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