Rafael Nadal has won the BNP Paribas Open by defeating Juan martin Del Potro of Argentina in the final. Nadal won the match by 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Nadal took 2 hours and 29 minutes to win his third title in a row.
This was the 11th time that Nadal was facing Del Potro. He had defeated the Argentinean 7 times before this match.
After winning the tournament, Nadal said, “I am really overwhelmed at the moment. I had thought that it would take me a while to get back to my best after my comeback. But, it hasn’t taken me too much time. I am really very happy at this point of time.”
“To win three back to back tournaments after making a comeback from such a nasty injury is really something which is hard to believe. I hadn’t expected myself to win so many titles this early in the season.”
“I would also like to thank my fans. I have got great support from them since my comeback and fortunately, I have stood up to their expectations.”
Nadal had a poor start in this match. He lost the opener and dropped his serve in the first game of the second set. He was down by 0-2 in the second set, but, after that, he made an impressive comeback.
Nadal admitted that he was a bit nervous in the first set. The Spaniard said, “At the start of the match, I was a bit tensed and I was trying to play too aggressively. That was why I was mistiming my shots. In the second set, I calmed myself and that helped.”
This is the third time that Nadal has won BNP Paribas Open. Because of this title victory, his world ranking has improved. He has now become the no. 4 player in the world.