Nadal escapes, Osaka exits Indian Wells in tears

Rafael Nadal

Naomi Osaka

REUTERS: Rafael Nadal pulled off another great escape Saturday, rallying from two breaks down in the third set to beat young American, Sebastian Korda in the second round at Indian Wells.

As for Daniil Medvedev, the man Nadal beat with an epic comeback in the Australian Open final, cruised to victory in his first match, as the world’s top-ranked player, Nadal was made to work by 21-year-old Korda, ranked 38 in the world.

The night ended with four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka departing stadium court in tears after she was heckled early in a 6-0, 6-4 second-round loss to Veronika Kudermetova.

Osaka, who put athlete mental health in the spotlight during a tumultuous 2021, said it wasn’t so much the “Naomi, you suck” shout from the crowd but the fact that it reminded her of how Venus and Serena Williams were jeered at the same tournament in 2001.

Czech qualifier ranked 158 in the world.

The US Open champion Medvede wrapped up a 6-3, 6-2 victory in 70 minutes against 158th ranked Tomas Machac.