Rafael Nadal

Spaniard Nadal, 35, who has not lost in 2022, overcame 31-year-old Evans 7-5 6-3 as he secured a 17th straight win. Russia's Daniil Medvedev was beaten in ...

"I have been playing after a couple of games better and better. "It's been a long time since I've beaten a world number one, so I'm pretty happy. It's a terrible match-up for me - it would be nice to have a double-handed backhand in this situation." He put me under pressure going to the net. I'm looking forward to that, and it's a little bit of a rivalry. "Jenson's not the most traditional player.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN champion Rafael Nadal took on Britain's Dan Evans in his third round match at the Indian Wells Masters, hoping to avoid an upset after some ...

Evans was struggling to match Nadal's brilliance, but it was a huge compliment to the Briton that he was forcing his opponent to produce some spectacular winners. He might have even broken back to make more of a match of it, but Nadal reduced a break-saving backhand at the net which had the crowd on their feet and his coach punching the air. The Briton appeared to have most of his energy in that titanic duel in the first set, and had no answer to his opponent's brilliance most of the time in the second.

Rafael Nadal extended his winning run to 17 matches by beating Britain's Dan Evans in straight sets to reach the last 16 at Indian Wells.

Evans showed plenty of spirit to hold serve twice more to make it 5-3, but Nadal raced through his next service game, setting up match point with a brilliant backhand down the line and sealing victory with a forehand winner. Nadal sensed the chance to build on his advantage and reeled off his fifth game in a row to lead 3-0 in the second set. Nadal broke back in the eighth game to level it up at 4-4 and then saved a break point at 5-5 before eventually holding serve to lead 6-5.

Rafael Nadal defeats Daniel Evans at the 2022 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, earning his 400th career ATP Masters 1000 win.

Opelka, who saved all four break points he faced against the Canadian, gained a measure of revenge for his four-set loss to Shapovalov in the Australian Open third round. Nadal used pinpoint passing shots to set up both breaks in the opening set, saving a break point in between at 5-all with a tough backhand volley. "Not really," he said in a post-match interview. Nadal stormed out of the gates with an explosive hold, finding open court time and again with his favoured forehand. After an interminable wait, Evans could not control his overhead off the bounce. It's the toughest challenge in the game," he added, referencing his next opponent's place among the "Big Four".