"I thought I was lost today" - admits Nadal after dramatic comeback win over Korda

Rafael Nadal entered his 15th BNP Paribas Open with a 15-0 record in 2022 and he needed a great escape to keep that streak intact against Sebastian Korda on Saturday with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(3) victory.

The American held a double break advantage at 5-2 in the third set and twice served for the match in Indian Wells. But just as in the Australian Open final, Nadal managed to turn the match around after looking down and out against an inspired opponent. He said:

"I thought I was lost today... and in Australia, very similar feeling. But that doesn't mean that I'm not going to keep trying or keep fighting."

Speakign furtther he added:

"Even if I think I'm going to lose the match, my mindset before returning that 5-2 game is, 'OK, I am playing bad, I had two breaks, but even if I'm going to lose, I'm going to try to finish the match having some better feelings.' So I need to fight to find these better feelings in that last game."

Nadal also admitted that Korda getting nervous did help him:

"I think it's true that probably he got a little bit more nervous. He made some more mistakes, being honest. I think I played a little bit better at least. We all get nervous when we have to win matches. If somebody tells you [differently], there is two options. That he lies [to] you, or the other option is he really doesn't care about the sport."