DHAKA: Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal was sent crashing 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) by Viktor Troicki in a major shock in the Shanghai Masters’ second round on Wednesday.

The 14-time Grand Slam champion saved a match point at 4-5 down in the second set but he was well beaten in the tie-breaker as he suffered his first ever defeat to the Serb in the latest setback for the fading Spanish great, reports TOI.

Chinese fans brandished pictures of Nadal but some were left in tears as the 14-time Grand Slam champion was well beaten.

Afterwards Nadal, now 30 and with a catalogue of injuries to his name, vowed to return to top form by next season, mainly by putting the zip back in his forehand and movement.

“I know what I have to do and I’m going to do it,” scowled Nadal, who has dropped to fifth in the world after a misfiring season.

“I have got two-and-a-half months to put myself at the level I want to be and I’m confident I’m going to do it.”

BDST: 1007 HRS, OCT 13, 2016
SR