Indian Wells: Rafael Nadal extends winning run while Daniil Medvedev suffers shock exit
- Planet Sport writer
- 15 March 2022
On a dramatic day at Indian Wells, Rafael Nadal extended his unbeaten start to the season, while Daniil Medvedev suffered elimination in a defeat with major implications.
Nadal was once again on top form as he beat Britain's Dan Evans 7-5 6-3 to not only progress into the last 16 but also extend his winning run to 17 straight games.
The Spaniard is yet to lose a match this season and has already claimed two titles, winning his 21st Grand Slam in Australia before claiming gold at the Mexican Open.
Evans did threaten the 35-year-old and even took a 3-1 lead in the opening set. Nevertheless, Nadal fought back and levelled the score 4-4 before going on to win 7-5.
Britain's number two missed a number of opportunities in that first set, and that appeared to take its toll in the second set as the Spaniard stormed to victory.
In his post-match interview, Nadal said: "I started playing better and better and think I finished the match well, so that's important for the confidence and playing a tough opponent like Dan.
"It's a good victory for me, so I'm very happy to beat Dan in the third round and happy to be here.
"The match in the beginning was difficult. He put me under some pressure combining his great slice backhand and the bounce has been quite low.
"It was not easy in the windy conditions here to put him in a tough position, but I hit a couple of passing shots in some important moments."
Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev was beaten in three sets by inspired French veteran Gael Monfils and the Russian will relinquish his world number one status as a result.
The Russian will hand back top spot in the rankings to Novak Djokovic next Monday after slipping to a 4-6 6-3 6-1 defeat.
Medvedev appeared in control after winning the last 11 points of the first set, but 35-year-old Monfils stepped up a gear and produced a thrilling display of carefree hitting in the final two sets to win in just over two hours.
Monfils will play Carlos Alcaraz in the last 16 after the Spanish teenager thrashed countryman Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2 6-0.
Women's sixth seed Maria Sakkari won through to the last 16 with a 6-3 6-0 win against Petra Kvitova, while fourth seed Anett Kontaveit lost to Marketa Vondrousova 6-3 5-7 6-7 (5).
