"Clearly, I haven't learned from last 17 years, never count out Rafael Nadal" - Tennis fans in awe after Spaniard's incredible comeback against Sebastian Korda at Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal pulled off an incredible comeback in his opener at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, rallying from 5-2 down against Sebastian Korda in the deciding set to oust the American.

After comfortably taking the first set 6-2, the Spaniard lost his touch in the second and had his serve broken multiple times en route to losing it 6-1.

Staring down the barrel in the third set, the Mallorcan showed why he is the greatest fighter in the game. Korda twice had the opportunity to serve out the match but the 21-time Grand Slam champion hung on relentlessly to take the set to a tie-break.

The World No. 38's nerves got the better of him in the final game as the former World No. 1 secured a gritty 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(3) win that sent his fans on social media into a happy frenzy.

The term "GOAT" was repeatedly brought up by several fans, who saw the Spaniard's determined fightback as yet another reason why he deserves the tag over anyone else.

"I prepared a 'Korda beats his hero' tweet when he led 5-2 in the decider. I tweaked it at 5-3 and again at 5-4. Clearly, I have not learned from the Australian Open final/the last 17 years. Never count out Nadal. Extraordinary comeback," one user quipped.

"Rafael Nadal - down 2-5 in the third set vs. Sebastian Korda - *somehow* finds a way back, winning 62 16 76(3) against the young American in a thriller. Nearly a career moment for Korda, but [Rafa] shows again why he's truly one of the greatest of all time," another fan wrote. "16-0 in 2022."

Almost everyone agreed that Sebastian Korda played one of the matches of his lifetime but was simply unlucky to face off against someone who has made a habit of "not going away."

"All the props to Korda, who played more than well enough to win that. Nadal hit some exceptional backhand passes on the road back from 2-5 down. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay him is that this doesn’t feel like a surprise because I’m so used to him not going away."

"The “every point matters” mentality is really good for Nadal, because even if he’s down, all pressure falls on the other side," a fan tweeted. "They have to win this, because he isn’t just going to beat himself."

The 35-year-old produced a comeback for the ages in the final of the Australian Open just over a month ago. Having lost the first two sets, the World No. 4 pulled off a miracle against Daniil Medvedev to take the final three sets and win his 21st Grand Slam title.

With his most recent win against Korda, the former World No. 1's fans did not shy away from declaring that 2022 was the "Year of Rafael Nadal comebacks."

"2022 IS THE YEAR OF RAFAEL NADAL COMEBACKS!! Sebastian Korda was serving out the match up 5-2 in the third set but he said, "not today, young one. Not today!" [Rafa] remains undefeated in 2022!" the fan wrote.

Rafael Nadal will take on Dan Evans in the 3rd round at Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal's victory against Sebastian Korda sealed his spot in the third round of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters, where he will take on 27th seed Dan Evans. The Brit scored an emphatic straight-sets victory over Federico Coria in his opener.

The Mallorcan has a 2-0 lead in the head-to-head against Evans coming into the contest, having won both their previous encounters on hardcourt without dropping a set. A win for the Spaniard would pit him against either the 13th seed Denis Shapovalov or 17th seed Reilly Opelka.