Rafael Nadal defeats Sebastian Korda after forcing final set tie-break

Rafael Nadal came back from the brink to keep his unbeaten start to the 2022 season intact with victory over Sebastian Korda at the BNP Paribas Masters.

World number 40 Korda served for the match in the final set at Indian Wells but the Spaniard fought back to force and win a final set tie-break and secure a 6-2 1-6 7-6 (3) result.

Nadal looked set to continue his remarkable start to the year, which saw him claim his 21st grand slam title at the Australian Open, with ease as he surged into a 4-0 lead.

Instead, Nadal rallied to level at 5-5, saved a break point in his next service game, and forced a final set tie-break, in which he fell 3-2 behind before rallying for another impressive win.

Next up for Nadal is Britain’s Dan Evans, who swept past Federico Coria 6-2 6-0.

Daniil Medvedev won his first match as world number one as he beat Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic to advance to the third round.

Medvedev, who is playing under a neutral flag as part of sporting sanctions following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, must reach at least the quarter-finals to keep his place at the top of the rankings.

He was forced to save a break point in the first game of the match but subsequently only dropped eight further points on his serve as he eased to a 6-3 6-2 win in one hour and 11 minutes.