Tennis fans couldn’t believe what they were seeing on Wednesday as Rafael Nadal dropped the first set to Feliciano Lopez at the Paris Masters.
Looking to secure the 1000th victory of his storied career, the Spaniard made a slow start and found himself staring down the barrel of a shock loss.
After losing the first set 6-4, Nadal was pushed to a tiebreaker in the second set with Lopez on the verge of an almighty upset.
However Nadal showed his class to prevail in the breaker (7-5), before taking the third set and the match 6-4.
The 34-year-old Nadal, bidding for a first Paris Masters title, will face Jordan Thompson in the third round after the Australian beat Croatia’s Borna Coric 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
Taking the trophy in Paris this week would see Nadal equal Novak Djokovic’s record of 36 Masters titles.
He struggled to find his rhythm for much of the match as 39-year-old Lopez served excellently, saving the first six break points he faced, but Nadal stepped it up in the second-set tie-break.
The top seed grabbed the crucial break in the first game of the decider and then eased to victory after saving two break points himself in the next game.
“It was a very tough match,” said Nadal. “I started in the worst way possible with a break.
“Against him, that’s difficult because you’re under pressure for the whole match.”
Fans were left shocked by Nadal’s early dramas, before erupting over his comeback win.
