Oanother miracle, this time smaller, to begin with. Rafa Nadal raised a match that he had lost against the irreverent Sebastian Korda in his Indian Wells debut, recalling his historic comeback against Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open. In the end, triumph by 6-2, 1-6 and 7-6(3) in two and a half hours of a wonderful show full of plot twists.
The winner of 21 majors had to pull pike, like so many other times in his career, to beat the talented American, who at the age of 21 he cherished the famous triumph. Nadal already adds 16 victories in this portentous start of 2022 and he seems to have regained that cannibalistic appetite he’s always had when injuries have passed him by.
Repeat, son and pupil of the hysterical Petr Kordawinner of the Australian Open in 1998, showed all the virtues that are presupposed to him against the best possible opponent and at the right time, but in the end collided with the hardest wall in the history of tennis.
No one would have predicted it based on how the game started, with four games for Rafa and a very uncomfortable Korda who couldn’t find his place on the track. Without a doubt, the rival’s name weighed heavily on him and perhaps the memory of what happened at Roland Garros 2020, when he was just 19 years old, when the Balearic swept him off the track in the round of 16, giving up just four games.
The outstanding son of the former Czech tennis player began to let go of his arm as that first set progressed and at least balanced the game but it was too late to straighten it out.
Perfect storm
However, it did leave hints of what was to come: a perfect storm of winning shots that put the manacor on the ropes. Proof of this were the eight double faults he committed. In a seen and not seen, Korda won the second quarter 6-1 and went up 5-2 and served in the third. but there appeared the infinite greatness of Nadal, balancing a match that the rest of the mortals would have given up for lost.
The rest was an exercise of the trade by Rafa in which Korda saw the seams. And it is that tennis is not only played with the racket. The head is an important part in any sport and ah Nadal has an infinite advantage over the impetuous but inexperienced American. Nadal ended up forcing sudden death and took a Korda to the limit who could not withstand the final pressure.
Daniel Evans will be the rival of the Spanish tennis player in the third round of a tournament that Nadal has won up to three times, although his last victory dates back to 2013. At the moment, two precedents and two victories for a Rafa who is having fun and who is looking for his 400th victory in a Masters 1000 against the British. the rhythm does not stop
