Third seed Nadal fought through cramps all over his body on a balmy night at Rod Laver Arena to beat American qualifier Tim Smyczek in five sets and was praised for his fighting spirit in mainstream and social media.
Murray battled through cramps during his opening round win against Robin Haase at the U.S. Open in August and complained of a different reaction on his Twitter account.
"When I cramped and won in the U.S. open last year I was a "drama Queen, unfit, needs to see a shrink, faker" weird...", the Briton tweeted on Thursday.
Murray previously copped flak for having fitness problems at the 2012 French Open, where he overhauled Finn Jarkko Niemenin in the second round despite suffering a back spasm before play.
British three-times grand slam champion Virginia Wade famously described Murray as a "drama queen" after his troubles, earning a stinging rebuke from the indignant Scot.
Murray came back after back surgery last year and failed to add to his two grand slam titles but has been in peak condition early at Melbourne Park, winning both his opening round matches in straight sets.
The sixth-seeded Scot next plays Portugal's Joao Sousa in the third round on Friday.
(Editing by Patrick Johnston)
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