Australian Open 2016 Day 2: Day of shocks as Nadal, Venus, Halep among ousted top seeds

Aside from the controversy of widespread match-fixing at the upper level of tennis, another shocker this week was Day 2 of the 2016 Australian Open, when top seeds were ousted in the first round of the tournament.

Here is a quick recap and match results of the notable first round upsets at the 2016 Australian Open Day 2.

Fernando Verdasco defeats Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco relived their classic encounter in the first round of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park, but this time, the result was different. Verdasco, who took Nadal to an epic five-hour 14-minute match seven years ago, overturned a two-deficit to advance to the second round of the first Grand Slam of the year, winning over the “King of Clay” 7-6(6) 4-6 3-6 7-6(4) 6-2.

“The match is a tough one to lose for me obviously," Nadal said, reports CNN. "I have been playing and practicing great and working so much. It is tough when you work so much and arrived at a very important event and you're going out too early.”

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. An early exit also raised questions whether the 29-year-old Mallorcan could still compete in Grand Slam events like the Australian Open amid his declining performance in the last three years, reports the BBC.

As for Verdasco, it was only the third time in 17 encounters he defeated his compatriot, but it would serve as great momentum when he faces Israel’s Dudi Sela in the second round of the event.

Zhang Shuai defeats Simona Halep

There was also another stunner in the women’s draw in the second day of the Aussie Open. Second seed Simona Halep crashed out at the first Grand Slam event of the year after Chinese wildcard qualifier Zhang Shuai managed a 6-4 6-3 win over the Romanian.

Zhang, No. 133 in the WTA world rankings, had not won a Grand Slam match in her last 14 attempts until the upset against Halep. She saved nine break points in a match that lasted for an hour and 18 minutes, orchestrating the second biggest shocker in the tournament behind Verdasco’s win over Nadal.

“Today is the best moment of my career ... beating a top-two player,” an emotional Zhang said, reports News. “I’m so happy, so excited.”

Johanna Konta defeats Venus Williams

Venus, the older Williams, was also one of the top seeds ousted at the Australian Open. Venus lost 6-4 6-2 against world No. 47 Konta, who advances to the third round to face Saisai Zheng of China.

According to USA Today, Venus was fined $5,000 by the Australian Open for not showing up in her mandatory post-match press obligations following her eighth first-round exit in 62 Grand Slam appearances. It was the 35-year-old’s second fine in a year after skipping press at the French Open in May, when Venus was fined $3,000.