afael Nadal staged a surprising comeback to beat Sebastien Korda to keep up his unbeaten streak in 2022.
After cruising by means of the primary set in 35 minutes, the Spaniard struggled to deal with a extra aggressive strategy from the 21-year-old who stormed by means of the second.
Nadal’s usually stable serve let him down within the third and he dedicated his seventh double fault to fall two breaks down in entrance of a shocked crowd earlier than combating again to drive a tiebreak.
The veteran was then way more composed and sealed the win when Korda’s backhand landed broad.
“Everybody is aware of that is my favorite place to play and it’s wonderful to play in entrance of all you guys,” Nadal advised the supportive crowd beneath blue skies within the Southern California desert.
“I really feel very fortunate right this moment to be by means of. Sebastian was enjoying some implausible tennis. He had his possibilities, however that’s tennis.”
The loss will sting for Korda, who grew up idolising the 21-time Grand Slam champion and even named his cat after him.
“He began enjoying loads totally different,” Korda mentioned of Nadal’s play after he fell behind 5-2 within the decider.
“He moved nearer to the baseline. I might see that he was somewhat anxious, altering up his ways. I simply didn’t play good video games, and he took benefit of it.”
With the win, the three-time Indian Wells champion is now undefeated in 16 matches this 12 months.
Earlier than his match, Nadal introduced that he wouldn’t compete on the Miami Open, which begins later this month.
Earlier on Saturday, newly-crowned world primary Daniil Medvedev dispatched Tomas Machac 6-3 6-2 to cruise into the third spherical.
Medvedev’s highly effective serve and nearly impenetrable defence proved an excessive amount of for the Czech qualifier to deal with.
The Russian obtained a heat welcome from the gang on Stadium One when he was launched because the world’s high males’s participant after the match.
“That is the primary time I’ve heard this and folks clapped so thanks loads for the great welcome,” Medvedev mentioned.
The 26-year-old U.S. Open champion is searching for his first win on the Masters 1000 match.
In different second spherical motion, fifth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas edged Jack Sock 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(5), wild card Nick Kyrgios stormed previous Federico Delbonis 6-2 6-2 and rising stars Jenson Brooksby, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz all superior in straight units.
Extra reporting from Reuters
