FROM ZERO TO HERO: RAFA NADAL OVERCOMES KOHLSCHREIBER IN MIAMI OPEN THIRD ROUND

Written by: Staff on 26th March 2017

FROM ZERO TO HERO: RAFA NADAL OVERCOMES KOHLSCHREIBER IN MIAMI OPEN THIRD ROUND

epa05872700 Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after defeating Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany following their third round match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 26 March 2017 EPA/RHONA WISE |

From zero to hero: Nadal overcomes Kohlschreiber in Miami Open third round

By Ricky Dimon

Rafael Nadal was served a late-afternoon bagel on Sunday. It appeared to be just the right order.

Nadal recovered from finding himself on the losing end of a 6-0 first set, eventually storming past Philipp Kohlschreiber 0-6, 6-2, 6-2 in round three of the Miami Open. The Spaniard needed one hour and 38 minutes to advance.

“He was doing everything well,” Nadal said of Kohlschreiber’s flawless performance in the opening frame of play. “So that’s sport, as I said hundreds of times. When somebody is playing the way that he was playing…(I have to) lose the set because he was playing too good. That’s it.”

The underdog’s success did not last long.

Nadal completely dominated thereafter–especially on serve. The 14-time Grand Slam champion dropped a mere three points throughout nine service games during the second and third sets. Two breaks of the Kohlschreiber serve were more than enough in set two, and just one put Nadal across the finish line in the decider.

Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany in action against Rafael Nadal of Spain during day six of the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 26 March 2017. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany during day six of the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 26 March 2017. EPA/ERIK S. LESSER

“I think my serve worked so [well] in the second and third set,” the No. 5 seed assessed. “The match is long, and (the0 positive thing is I [withstood] very well the pressure after a very tough first set. I think I played a great second and third set.”

Nadal’s reward is a fourth-round showdown against Nicolas Mahut in what has become an extremely favorable section of the draw. Grigor Dimitrov lost his opening match to Guido Pella before Pella succumbed to Mahut on Sunday. Milos Raonic, a potential quarterfinal opponent for Nadal, withdrew because of a hamstring injury prior to his scheduled third-round date with Jared Donaldson.

The former world No. 1 is 1-1 lifetime against Mahut and they have not faced each other since 2011.