Courtesy: Sky Sports
Nadal, who relinquished his Wimbledon title and top ranking to Novak Djokovic last month, looked in charge in his first match since the final in south-west London when he took a one-sided opening set against Dodig.
But world number 41 Dodig fought back to take the next two on tie-breaks, twice coming from a break of serve behind in the deciding set, to triumph 1-6 7-6 (7/5) 7-6 (7/5) for the most impressive win of his career.
"This is the biggest win of my career, of my life," said an excited Dodig. "I enjoyed it so much. I was fighting hard for every point. In the end I managed, I'm really happy."
The 26-year-old fired 19 aces past Nadal, to seven by the Spaniard, as he avenged his straight-sets defeat on clay in the Barcelona semi-finals earlier this season.
Decisive
"Honestly, I didn't feel I played bad but I can't say I played well. In the decisive moments, I didn't play well, that's the truth," said Nadal.
"He played very well, very aggressive. He didn't feel the pressure in the important moments."
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