Rafael Nadal pulled off another great escape Saturday, rallying from two breaks down in the third set to beat young American Sebastian Korda in the second round at Indian Wells.
As newly minted number one Daniil Medvedev — the man Nadal beat with an epic comeback in the Australian Open final — cruised to victory in his first match as the world’s top-ranked player, Nadal was made to work by 21-year-old Korda, ranked 38th in the world.
“I feel very, very lucky today to be through,” Nadal said after a 6-2, 16, 7-6 (7/3) victory in the prestigious WTA and ATP Masters hard court tournament.
“Sebastian was playing some fantastic tennis. I didn’t play my best match without a doubt (but) a lot of credit to him that he played so aggressive and he put me in a lot of trouble.”