With Rafael Nadal serving at 2-3, 0-40 in the third set, it looked like the BNP Paribas Open would lose its defending champion and world No. 1 on just the third day of action.
Nadal had other ideas. The Spaniard came up with spectacularly clutch play that sent tournament director Larry Ellison into a well-documented show of emotion before eventually outlastingRadek Stepanek 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday night. The decisive turning point came at 30-40 of the final set’s sixth game when a furious rally culminated in a brilliant backhand pass by Nadal. He ended up holding serve and never let go of the momentum, ultimately seizing a match-clinching service break at 5-5.
“It’s true that with love40 was, yeah, very close to lose—to be out—but I think I did two good serves and then I played a great point,” Nadal said in his post-match press conference. “Tough one. Anything can happen, but in the end I played well. After [saving the 0-40 game], I think I played better.
“After Rio, I did treatment there in Rio just after the final and I didn’t serve for 10 days,” Nadalsaid, referring to the lingering back problem that hampered him in an Australian Open final loss to Stanislas Wawrinka. “So I was starting to serve few days ago just; that’s normal. I was serving not bad on the practices, but changing a little bit the movement to protect a little bit the back. I was feeling the back much worse (in Rio) than here. I’m happy for that. That’s most important thing.”
Next up for Nadal is a rematch of the Rio de Janeiro final against Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Topics: BNP Paribas Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Spanish tennis news, Tennis News
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