Rafael Nadal managed to win in his 1000th tennis match. However, it did not come easily. He had a tough match against Philipp Kohlschreiber, but the victory took him to the final 16 of the Miami Open 2017.

The start of the match for Nadal can be described in one word: disaster. He lost the first set to Kohlschreiber 0-6. The match, which was supposed to be a milestone in his career, seemed to bear a different result altogether. Even though Kohlschreiber had a 1-13 record against the fifth seed, he took only 25 minutes to take the glory away from Nadal in the opening set.

However, the champion tennis player showed his true color and rose from the ashes to win the next to sets 6-2 6-3. Maybe this match was supposed to show how great a fighter Rafael Nadal is. According to Yahoo Sports, Nada did not look like a 14-time grand slam winner in the beginning. Kohlschreiber dominated the game, and the 26th seed scored one after another with ease.

ATP World Tour notes that Rafael Nadal happens to be a four-time finalist at the Miami Open. It will take some more time to see if the 2017 version will see him in the finals. Nadal will meet Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in the fourth round. Mahut defeated Argentine Guido Pella in straight sets. Interestingly, the FedEx ATP Head2Head record between Mahut and Nadal is evenly poised at 1-1.

Rafael Nadal was a strong favorite to win in his 15th encounter with Kohlschreiber. The only time he lost to the German was in 2012 in Halle on grass. Also, Kohlschreiber had 18 unforced errors to his kitty, which helped a struggling Nadal in the match. If the Spanish tennis champion performs like this in his next match, Mahut is sure to have the last laugh.