A typically never-say-die performance from the legendary Spaniard on his 1000th career match!
Rafael Nadal (Photo: AFP)
Rafael Nadal had to dig deep to beat Philip Kohlschreiber 0-6, 6-2,6-3 on Sunday in their third round match at the Miami Open, recovering from arguably the worst start of his glittering career to ensure his 1000th career match would be remembered for the right reasons.
Nadal, who has never won the Miami Open despite reaching the final on four occasions, will now play Nicolas Mahut of France, who beat Guido Pella 6-4, 6-3.
While Nadal was the heavy favourite against his German opponent on Sunday, it was Kohlschreiber who started on the front foot, attacking the Spaniard on his serve from the off. And that tactic paid off handsomely, with the German looking to going some way towards righting his dreadful head-to-head against Nadal (Before the Miami meeting, Nadal led 13-1).
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Once he broke Nadal in the very first game of the match, there was no looking back for Kolhschrieber as the Spaniard looked decidedly off-colour, missing easy shots to allow the German to win the opening set to love.
The next two sets, however, were a vastly different story altogether as a vintage Nadal stormed back to turn the tie on its head with a relentless barrage and the German crumbled spectacularly.
While the fact that he became the first man in over two years to beat Nadal 6-0 in a set is a feat in itself, the German had the 14-time Slam champion on the ropes and he knew it.
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