ATP Masters Indian Wells: Round of 16! Rafael Nadal lacklusterly beats Dan Evans
Rafael Nadal is in the round of 16 at the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 event. An average performance was enough for the Spaniard to win a two-set win over Britain's Dan Evans on Monday. Possible round of 16 opponents are Denis Shapovalov and Reilly Opelka.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 14, 2022, 11:20 pm
A few minutes before his third-round duel at the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 event, Rafael Nadal must have picked up in the player tunnel that the current world number one Daniil Medvedev surprisingly had to bow out against Gael Monfils in the first match of the day . A not insignificant information for the Spaniard, especially since Medvedev would have been a possible opponent of Nadal in the semifinals.
Rafael Nadal did not initially seem to be particularly inspired by this result. As for long stretches against Sebastian Korda in round two, the Mallorcan remained below his expectations in the early stages, had to accept the break early on - and ran after it for a long time. Only when the score was 3: 4 from his point of view was the 21-time major winner able to increase the pressure on the server Evans for the first time and directly managed the rebreak to 4: 4.
Nadal gets the upper hand
From then on, Nadal showed that even on a less glorious day, he's just incredibly difficult to defeat. The Spaniard fended off a breakball with nerves of steel when the score was 5: 5, and – also with the help of an inhuman forehand pass ball shot – scored a 0:40 on Evans’ serve. And with that, three set balls. The second finally passed with strong help from Dan Evans, who made a double fault just at the crucial moment. After almost exactly an hour, the first set went 7:5 to the Mallorcan.
The start of the second set went well for Nadal: The Spaniard played a good service game and then immediately prepared to make the break early on. With success, after a very curious and nevertheless lucky point for the Spaniard - a frame return from the fourth in the world rankings found its way into the field in a high arc, Evans smashed the resulting smash meters away - made Nadal 2-0.
The decision in this game, Evans subsequently had little to oppose. After a little over an hour and a half, the 35-year-old secured the 7: 5 and 6: 3 success. In the round of 16, Nadal is now waiting for the winner of the clash between Denis Shapovalov and Reilly Opelka. Possible quarter-final opponents are Jannik Sinner, Casper Ruud or showman Nick Kyrgios.
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