Nadal, what a fright: Korda rises again and beats one step away from elimination

It will not be a comeback comparable to the one against Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final, but once again Nadal re-emerges when everything seemed compromised and wins a game as a champion, entering the opponent’s head and not doing anything wrong one step away from defeat. The number 4 in the world beats Sebastian Korda in the second round (in the first he received the bye) of Indian Wells after finding himself under 5-2 in the third set, with two breaks to recover: Rafa refuses the defeat (still surprised?) , finds the strength to stay in the game and closes the match with the decisive tie-break. Korda has a bitter taste in the mouth of the failed undertaking against the old idol, so admired that he gives the name (“Rafa”, sometimes “Rafi”) to the 21-year-old American’s cat.

The match

–

The score tells of a game with many faces (6-2 1-6 7-6), but when you go deeper everything becomes clearer: Korda starts badly and gets caught up in tension in the final, in the middle he plays a great tennis. The American seems in shock at the start, he is 4-0 down in the first set and compromises the first set, but entering the game after the traumatic start. Which allows him to play a great second set, to the point of inflicting a 6-1 on Nadal: lese majesty. We would expect a reaction of pride from the champion, who however goes one step and a half from defeat: 5-2 in favor of Korda and a double break advantage. Over? Not at all: Rafa collects yet another incredible comeback and moves to 6-5 (serious mistake by Korda at 5-5 30-40, before going to serve for the match) and closes at the tie-break. Nadal’s clear path continues in 2022: victory number 16 this season.