Fernando Verdasco celebrates his stunning win over Rafael Nadal. (Twitter: @AustralianOpen)

It wasn't supposed to be this hard -- not for Rafael Nadal. But in Nadal's first-round match at the 2016 Australian Open, he was pushed to the brink by Fernando Verdasco before dropping a five-set thriller.

Nadal's run at the Australian Open is already over. The 14-time Grand Slam winner didn't even survive one match. Instead, it was Verdasco who survived, winning 7-6, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6, 6-2.

It was a struggle for Nadal, who recorded just 37 winners. And really, though Nadal's No. 5 ranking seemed to ensure he'd make it past Verdasco, the way in which the match unfolded shouldn't have been shocking. After all, it was Verdasco who hung tough with Nadal for more than five hours in the semifinals of the 2009 Australian Open, taking Nadal the distance before falling in the final set. Nadal then went on to defeat Roger Federer to capture his only Australian Open title.

This time was no different -- except for the final result. The Spanish lefties went at each other during the first four sets. Verdasco took the first set in a tiebreak, but Nadal responded during the next two sets. Verdasco pushed back, winning the fourth set in another tiebreak.

The match certainly didn't lack excitement.

In the fifth set, Nadal jumped all over Verdasco, landing an early break. But that 2-0 edge disappeared in a hurry, as Verdasco ripped off four straight games to take a 4-2 lead. Nadal desperately needed something, anything to go his way.

Instead, he floundered, clearly overpowered by Verdasco, who racked up 90 winners and 20 aces.

Surprisingly, a match that featured incredible drama ended without a fight. There would be no miraculous comeback. Verdasco learned from his past mistakes.

He finished off Nadal.

And now, while Verdasco heads to Round 2, Nadal's Grand Slam slump continues.