"I didn't know at all about that, but good numbers, of course" - Rafael Nadal after becoming 1st player to win 400 Masters 1000 matches
Rafael Nadal clinched his 400th win at the Masters 1000 level on Monday by beating Dan Evans 7-5, 6-3 in the third round of the Indian Wells Masters. The Spaniard became the first player in the history of men's tennis to have achieved this feat.
Speaking after the match, Nadal admitted that he was unaware of the significance of his win.
"I didn't know at all about that, but good numbers, of course," the Spaniard said when told he had hit the 400-wins mark.
NEW GROUND 📊
@RafaelNadal becomes the first man ever to reach 400 Masters 1000 singles match wins!
#IndianWells https://t.co/EsFXqCk1Hp
The Mallorcan's close friend and rival Roger Federer is second with 381 wins to his name. But given the Swiss' age and injury concerns, it is unlikely he will topple the 21-time Major champion.
Novak Djokovic, however, has a much better chance given he is a year younger than the 35-year-old Spaniard. Djokovic has 374 Masters 1000 wins under his belt and given his superlative form in recent seasons, he, too, is expected to breach the 400 mark sooner or later.
Nadal entered the 2022 BNP Paribas Open with 398 Masters 1000 wins. He was inches away from remaining stranded on that figure as he trailed Sebastian Korda by a double break in their second-round match. But the American twice faltered while serving for the match and the 35-year-old prevailed in a tie-break.
Dan Evans too threatened the Spaniard, albeit briefly, in their third-round clash by breaking early in the first set.
However, Nadal quelled fears of another close match by closing out a straight-sets win. The 35-year-old admitted to having a slow start but pointed out how a few key winners shifted the momentum in his favor.
"The match didn't start the way that I wanted," the Mallorcan said, "but I was able to hit a couple of good passing shots in some key moments, and then things started to build a bit better."
brb watching this on loop
#IndianWells @RafaelNadal https://t.co/Jdg9iZPyiu
"I need to keep improving" - Rafael Nadal
The three-time Indian Wells champion will face either Reilly Opelka or Denis Shapovalov in the fourth round. He acknowledged that his fourth-round fixture would be considerably tougher and that he needs to "keep improving."
"I need to keep improving, of course, but it has been a small improvement today. That's important because the next round is going to be a very difficult one," previewed the 21-time Major champion.
The Spaniard leads Opelka and Shapovalov by a margin of 1-0 and 4-1 respectively in the head-to-head.
Also Check Out: Indian Wells Masters 2022 Schedule