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Rafael Nadal looking on

‘Worst possible way!’ – Rafael Nadal admits he suffered major scare in Paris


Rafael Nadal says he started his historic win over Feliciano Lopez ‘in the worst possible way’ before finding a way to win.

It was Nadal’s 1000th career win, a milestone that only three other men – Roger Federer, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl – have ever reached.

It was far from an easy one, though with Lopez taking the first set. Nadal, however, was able to fight back to win 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4.

“I started the match the worst way possible, especially against a big server like Feli,” Rafael Nadal said after the match.

“After that I played under a lot of pressure the rest of the match, but I found a way.

“This victory is one that I am very proud of. The personal satisfaction sometimes is bigger when you win these kinds of matches than if you go on court and win 6-3, 6-3.”

Nadal, who is searching for his first Paris Masters title, will now face Australian Jordan Thompson after he upset 15th seed Borna Coric in the second round.


Michael Graham, Tennishead.net Editor, has been a professional sports journalist for his whole career and is especially passionate about tennis. He's been the Editor of Tennishead.net for over 5 years and loves watching live tennis by visiting as many tournaments as possible. Michael specialises in writing in-depth features about the ATP & WTA tours.