Rafael Nadal may struggle a bit with his tennis, but he has never lost his incredible competitive edge.
The King of Clay had the daunting task to beat boom boom Karlovic. Rafa was immediately broken in the first game of the match to then break Karlovic in the 10th game with 3 incredible returns on Ivo’s first serve. Rafa then broke again the Croatian Giant to win the opener 7-5. After bowing in the second set tie-tiebreak, the Spanish Legend had to battle in another rough breaker in the third set. The difference here was just a double fault from Ivo. Nadal won the match 7-5 6-7 (4) 7-6 (4) after 2 hours and 44 minutes. Match Stats.
Nadal
Rafa went back to the 1st set when he broke Karlovic for the first time “That game was so important. Probably one of the best games return in my career. Almost a miracle. Three winners from his first serve. That was really amazing.I I think I played a good match. The only negative thing was the first game of the match. The real thing is he played so well the first set, the first game, too. He played well.
In terms of level of concentration and attitude and control of my emotions, it was a fantastic match. To win 7-6 in the third is a very important victory for me, especially because I believe in the last tie-break I did not lose a single point on my serve. That’s because I was in control again of my emotions. That’s the most important thing for me today.”
Next vs. Raonic
Talking about big servers, Rafa will face another one, Milos Raonic, in the next round. Head to head 5-1 for Rafa, but Milos has won the last encounter in Indian Wells this year.
| GRITTY STUFF |
