Rafael Nadal produced a remarkable Houdini act to defeat American Sebastian Korda in an Indian Wells thriller on Saturday as Britain's Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans both advanced, while Daniil Medvedev cruised through his first match as world No 1.
Nadal looked down and out at 5-2 down in the deciding set against American Sebastian Korda, but the Spaniard conjured up a phenomenal comeback to win 6-2 1-6 7-6 (7-3).
The 35-year-old, who clinched a record 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year, extended his winning streak to 16-0 for the season.
That unbeaten record looked to be seriously under threat when he appeared down and out in the third set.
Instead, Nadal rallied to level at 5-5, saved a break point in his next service game, and forced a final set tie-break, in which he fell 3-2 behind before rallying to keep his hopes of winning a fourth title at the event alive.
"Everyone knows this is my favourite place to play and it is amazing to play in front of all you guys," Nadal said.
"I feel very lucky today to be through. Sebastian was playing some fantastic tennis. He had his chances, but that's tennis."
Before his match, Nadal announced that he would not compete at the Miami Open, which starts later this month.
"Rafa will certainly be missed. He has so many fans here in South Florida, and we hope to see him back in Miami next year," Miami tournament director James Blake said.
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British duo Evans & Norrie both advance
Reigning Indian Wells champion Norrie was put out on Court 5 for his opening match, but the British No 1 showed his mental toughness to dispatch Spain's Pedro Martinez 6-3 6-3.
Norrie will face Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in a repeat of last year's final in the next round.
Fellow Brit Evans flew through his opening clash against Federico Coria, winning 6-2 6-0 to set up a meeting with three-time winner Nadal next.
Newly-crowned world No 1 Daniil Medvedev beat Tomas Machac 6-3 6-2 to cruise into the third round.
Medvedev's powerful serve and almost impenetrable defence proved too much for the Czech qualifier to handle on a hot day in the Southern California desert.
The Russian received a warm welcome from the crowd on Centre Court when he was introduced as the world's top men's player after the match.
"This is the first time I have heard this and people clapped so thanks a lot for the nice welcome," Medvedev said.
Medvedev, who is playing under a neutral flag as part of sporting sanctions following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, must reach at least the quarter-finals to keep his place at the top of the rankings.
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Sabalenka stunned in Californian sun
World No 3 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a shock loss in her first match, falling to Italian Jasmine Paolini 2-6 6-3 6-3 in the second round.
The Belarusian was a favourite to win the event after world No 1 Ashleigh Barty and No 2 Barbora Krejcikova withdrew ahead of the start of the WTA 1000 tournament, but she follows Karolina Pliskova and Garbine Muguruza out of the tournament after both top 10 players lost on Friday.
Paolini said she was as surprised as anyone to come out on the winning side of the match.
"I'm so happy. I didn't expect this moment," she said. "I'm just happy to be here in the third round. I think I played an amazing match. The crowd was amazing. I enjoyed it very much."
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