Rafa still going strong, 1000 matches later

28 March 2017 - 10:47 By Reuters
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ONE IN A THOUSAND: Spanish left-hander Rafael Nadal celebrates his come-from-behind win against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on day six of the Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Centre. Nadal recovered from a first-set bagel to win 0-6, 6-2, 6-3.
ONE IN A THOUSAND: Spanish left-hander Rafael Nadal celebrates his come-from-behind win against Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany on day six of the Miami Open at Crandon Park Tennis Centre. Nadal recovered from a first-set bagel to win 0-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Image: GEOFF BURKE/USA TODAY SPORTS

Rafa Nadal celebrated his 1 000th ATP Tour match with a come-from-behind win over German veteran Philipp Kohlschreiber to reach the fourth round of the Miami Open.

World No 31 Kohlschreiber was on fire earlier, ripping through the first set in only 21 minutes.

But fifth seed Nadal flipped the switch and turned the match on its head to prevail 0-6 6-2 6-3.

It was the first time Nadal had failed to win a game in the first set of an ATP tour match since 2008, tour officials said.

The 30-year-old Spaniard ignited the near-capacity crowd with a typically determined comeback to clinch his 822nd career victory.

He joins a small group of 11 players headed by Jimmy Connors (1 535) to have played at least 1 000 matches.

"One thousand matches is a lot of matches. Obviously that's good news because that says I am having a long career," Nadal quipped.

"During a lot of years, I heard that I'm going to have a short career, so this is something that is important for me.

"I remember the first match very well because it was at home in Mallorca. It was my first victory on the ATP Tour and a great feeling."

While Nadal played in the relative comfort of the late afternoon, Kei Nishikori needed three sets and nearly three hours under a merciless midday sun to advance, outlasting Spain's Fernando Verdasco 7-6(2) 6-7(5) 6-1.

Nishikori, the runner-up to Novak Djokovic in this tournament last year, fired 37 winners but Verdasco, helped to a degree by the persistent, swirling winds, used varying pace and penetrating depth of shot to rattle Japan's No1, and cause 48 unforced errors.

Canadian Milos Raonic withdrew before his match against American qualifier Jared Donaldson, blaming a persistent hamstring injury for his no-show.

German Angelique Kerber, the top seed in the women's draw, made the fourth round but Madison Keys (No8) was dumped.

Simona Halep, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Venus Williams also all won their third-round matches.

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