'These things happen' shrugs Rafa Nadal after shock defeat

Having marked his return from appendix surgery in an exhibition contest in Abu Dhabi last week - at which he was thrashed by Andy Murray - Nadal ventured onto the court for his first ATP tournament of the year at the Qatar Open.

The match started in impressive fashion for Nadal as he took the first set 6-1 against the 34-year-old.

But Berrer struck back for the win of his career, winning the second set 6-3 and the third 6-4 - and the Spaniard was left to rue yet another uncharacteristic defeat against low-ranked player.

"He played well,” said Nadal.

“I was playing with more nerves than usual. I knew that winning [a] couple of matches here will help me, so that makes me play a little bit more under more tension.

“These things happen after [a] long time without being on the road, being on rhythm, being in competition. So I think I played a great first set, a lot of winners with my forehand, no mistakes.”

“You can see all the comebacks from a lot of players when they were injured from long time. The comebacks are tough; I'm not an exception.

“At the end, that's the sport. I'm going to work hard to try to make it less tough as possible, but my motivation and my hunger to keep doing the things well? Still the same. I am sure that I’m going to come back to my best. I hope to be soon.”

The 34-year-old German will be playing a final season on tour, but he did not get too carried away by the remarkable feat .

"It's really unbelievable," said Berrer, who until Tuesday had won just four games against the former world number one.

"Losing 1-6 felt like the other matches against him so I had to do something. It's my last season, I'm going for it, I have nothing to lose, I'm enjoying it here so why not.

"It's one of the matches that will stay in my memory but, let's be honest, it was the first match for Rafa after many months of injuries, so we have to be realistic. But for me great."

There were no such problems for world number one Novak Djokovic, who eased into the second round with a straight sets victory.

[QATAR OPEN ROUND-UP: Novak Djokovic storms to opening victory in Doha]

Nadal, who won the French Open again last year and reached the final in Australia, underwent surgery at the start of November to cure his appendix problems.

It was Berrer's first win against a top five player in his entire career, while Nadal suffered an early exit, denying him of vital match practice ahead of the Australian Open which starts on January 19.