The Spaniard, playing his 1,000th ATP match, suffered just the 14th 0-6 set of his career, claiming just 33% of first serve points won and making a string of unforced errors.
After looking badly out of sorts, Nadal was able to rediscover his form in the second set and in the end ran out a comfortable winner.
Nadal said that there was little he could do against Kohlschreiber’s outstanding play in the opening set.
“He was doing everything good. So that’s sport, as I said hundred of times and when somebody is playing the way that he was playing the first set... he was playing too good. That’s it,” said Nadal.
“The positive thing is I handled the pressure very well after a very tough first set. I resisted well the first few games of the second, and then I think I played a great second and third set,” he said. Nadal said the key to his comeback had been his ability to change the tempo and rhythm of the match.
“It was obvious that the points had been too quick. He was able to return so quick and to hit every ball as hard as he could. So I needed to play a little bit longer points.
“It’s not about being more or less aggressive, it’s about changing a little bit the position on the court. I went back on the return. I tried to play a little bit higher balls against his backhand.
“That happened...and I think my serve worked so good in the second and third set,” added Nadal, who next faces France’s Nicolas Mahut. Mahut beat Argentine Guido Pella 6-4 6-3.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori came through a tough test against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 7-6 (7/2), 6-7(5/7) 6-1.
Last year’s beaten finalist, Nishikori will face Argentine Federico Del Bonis, who beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.
Verdasco has yet to post a win against a top ten opponent this year but showed plenty of spirit in a two hours 44 minute contest on centre court at Crandon Park fighting back to win a second set tie-break.
But Nishikori stepped up in the third, running away with the set to ensure his progress.
“I knew it was going to be a tough one,” Nishikori said. “Fernando is a very solid player. He has a great serve and great groundstrokes. I knew it was going to be long rallies.
Among women, world number one Angelique Kerber came back from a break down in both sets to beat American Shelby Rogers 6-4, 7-5 to move into the fourth round.
With no sign of the rain that interrupted the past two days on Key Biscayne, Kerber was joined in the round of 16 by Britain’s Johanna Konta, American Venus Williams and Russia’s Svetlana Kuznetsova all who had comfortable wins.
Although ranked 61st in the world, Rogers has beaten Karolina Pliskova, Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep and Daria Kasatkina in the last year and had her eye on beating the top seed.
An upset looked possible when the American won the first three games of the opening set but Kerber recovered to win six of the next seven.
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