Nadal finds no opposition

As much as Daniel Evans tried to tickle him and led the first half of the match to a land full of mines, Rafael Nadal seized victory (7-5 ​​and 6-3, in 1h 43m) and continued to press the accelerator.

There are already 17 wins in as many games this season, which equals the historic starts of Pete Sampras (1997) and Roger Federer (2018);

The first was stopped by the Czech Bohdan Ulihrach, precisely in the 2nd round of Indian Wells, and the second Juan Martín del Potro, superior to the Swiss in that final.

Now, the man to beat is Nadal, who will face Reilly Opelka (6-7(4), 6-4 and 6-4 Denis Shapovalov) in the round of 16 of the Californian tournament and finds no opposition.

Evans demanded and forced him, but at the moment there is no one who coughs at the Mallorcan.

He had him on the ropes at the Sebastian Korda premiere and he resisted, and the Englishman bowed before.

Nadal, 35, headed to the next round and joined Carlos Alcaraz (6-2 and 6-0 against Roberto Bautista), proving once again that there is currently no greater obstacle than him.

With three trophies and a record number of wins, he hunted down Sampras and Federer, and reached Novak Djokovic's third-best record.

The Serb also went 17-0 in the 2013 annual kickoff, although in 2020 he raised the bar to 26-0 and before that, in 2011, he set a 41-0 record.

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On earth or cement, Alcaraz continues to grow

“I have served better and I have achieved more winners than the other day.

I didn't start the way I wanted, but I've improved little by little and I'm glad I got through that difficult moment in the first set.

I have taken a step forward, although I need to improve, ”explained the winner, who obtained the 400th victory of him in the Masters 1000;

in this sense, Nadal is ahead of ahead of Federer (381) and Djokovic (374).

Evans' career was forever marked by the cocaine trail.

Suspended for a year, between 2017 and 2018, the episode obscured the virtues of a player who knows how to play and compete, and who despite not making noise is always a thorny rival.

He always shows his face, he never wrinkles.

He hangs in the rally and is incisive, with his particular electric style.

He has arguments (good one-handed backhand, remarkable volley) and is anti-establishment.

And for a long time he was on a first-name basis with Nadal, who had a hard time undoing the mess of the first set.

greyish version

With a proposal very different from that of the previous opponent, Korda, the Englishman (31 years old) snatched the service from him and forced him to row against the current.

He did not find the sweet spot in Manacor, too cyclothymic, as if he had lost a pinch or two of spark compared to what he exhibited three weeks ago in Acapulco.

In any case, the greyish version of Nadal continues to be a disproportionate stumbling block for most players and when he had to sharpen himself he sharpened himself.

At 5-5, he saved a

and then bit.

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Nadal's inexhaustible spell

That's where the mess ended.

Evans kept insisting, erre y erre, but every time he knocked on the door (four lunges, three options aborted at the end) he was met with a negative.

Awarded the first set, the Balearic accelerated at the start of the second (break and 3-0), solved the trouble of the fifth game (almost eight minutes) and tried to resize his tennis to leave with a good taste in his mouth and head to the round of 16 with a better feeling.

He was on his way to it, but the duel fell short.

His body begged for more.

Once the delicate moments were resolved, he closed with a right hand that tasted like glory and confirmed, before the eyes of the owner of the tournament, the billionaire Larry Ellison, what had been seen so far in 2022: Nadal is looking for a rival.

Badosa progresses, Azarenka falls

In the last round of the day, Paula Badosa took down Sara Sorribes (7-6(4) and 6-1, in exactly 2 hours) and will face Leylah Fernandez or Shelby Rogers in the round of 16.

The defender of the title unraveled the first set, very even, and from there she put on track a pulse that the Valencian tried to take to the physical plane.

The 24-year-old Catalan withstood the challenge and progressed gritting her teeth.

“It has been very hard, she knows me very well.

I have fought until the end and thanks to that I have been able to win, ”said the number seven in the world.

In the opposite direction, the other 2021 finalist, Victoria Azarenka, said goodbye to the tournament by falling against the Kazakh Elena Rybakina 6-3, 6-4.

The 32-year-old Belarusian, who played with various protections on her right arm, could not hold back her tears midway through the second set and stopped the game for a couple of minutes until she was able to continue.

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