Rafael Nadal ’ s season plunged to a new low when he was dismissed from the Miami Open 2015 by one of those compatriots he usually defeats for a pastime . After Andy Murray had earlier eased through to the fourth round , the World No 3 floated limply away on the brisk Florida breeze , desperately inconsistent in going down 6-4 2-6 6-3 defeat to World No 34 Fernando Verdasco . He was in decent company because another top player in Murray ’ s half of the draw , Stan Wawrinka , also perished . The 27 year-old Scot is the survivor on that side after a comfortable 6-3 6-4 victory over Colombia ’ s Santiago Giraldo , and he now meets South African Kevin Anderson . Rafael Nadal was sent out of the Miami Open in the third round by Fernando Verdasco in three sets . Nadal ( left ) shakes the hand of Verdasco after defeat to his compatriot knocked him out of the Miami Open . Verdasco rarely looked threatened by Nadal , whose season has hit a new low after the defeat . Nadal has a lot of thinking to do following his defeat to 31 year-old left-hander Verdasco , who had only beaten him once in fourteen previous meetings . Only when the challenger seemed to get flustered after missing an early break in the second set was the French Open champion able to assert his normal superiority . The former World No 1 was troubled with wrist , back problems and appendicitis that caused him to miss much of last season ’ s second half . But he has played a full schedule in 2015 , in which he has only reached one final , winning the relatively low-key ATP clay event last month in Buenos Aires . The question is whether the constant strains on his body are finally catching up with him at 28 , although he has stuttered before at this time of year before coming storming back on the European clay , where has been undisputed king for 10 years . Once he had reeled in the second set the expectation was that Verdasco might fade , but after a long toilet break he reasserted himself and found that Nadal ’ s was in generous mood . Nadal struggled to generate his best shots from his traditionally formidable forehand . The 28-year-old Nadal was unable to exploit any potential nerves that could have been felt by Verdasco . Nadal could not build on winning the second set and was beaten 6-3 in the third as Verdasco secured the win . His feared forehand was particularly awry , and whole movement less assured than usual , never able to take advantage of his opponent ’ s potential nerves . Nadal maintained afterwards that he was unconcerned about his body , and that it was more an issue of his confidence being low : 'The physical problems are past . I am in competition . I 'm playing weeks in a row , it is not an excuse , ' he said . ' I do n't have this self confidence that when I hit the ball I ’ m going to hit the ball where I want to hit it , to go for the ball running and knowing that my position will be the right one . I need to fix my nerves and my self-control . '
Rafael Nadal lost 6-4 2-6 6-3 to compatriot Fernando Verdasco . The World No3 was desperately inconsistent in his third round loss . The 28-year-old took the second set but struggled again in the third . CLICK HERE for all the latest news from the Miami Open .