Indian Wells (AP) – Record Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal also won the 16th tennis game this year, but only with difficulty reached the next round at the Masters in Indian Wells.
The Spaniard defeated Sebastian Korda from the USA 6: 2, 1: 6, 7: 6 (7: 3) and is now in the third round after his bye in round one. There he meets the British Daniel Evans. Korda gave Nadal a big fight, was already 5: 2 in the last set and forced the tie-break after 5: 6.
“I feel very lucky to have progressed. Sebastian played fantastic tennis,” said Nadal in an interview on the court. “I didn’t play my best match, without a doubt. I started well but I made a lot of mistakes in the second set. He really got me into trouble.”
Despite a foot injury, Nadal has already won the ATP tournament in Melbourne, the Australian Open and the ATP tournament in Acapulco since the beginning of the year and has not yet suffered a defeat. With 21 major wins, the 36-year-old is the most successful tennis player in history.