Indian Wells Daily Preview: Rafael Nadal Clashes with Nick Kyrgios in the Quarterfinals - UBITENNIS

Indian Wells Daily Preview: Rafael Nadal Clashes with Nick Kyrgios in the Quarterfinals

By Matthew Marolf
5 Min Read

Rafael Nadal and Nick Kyrgios do not like each other.  The two have traded several barbs over the years, including Rafa once saying the Australian “lacks respect for the crowd, his opponent, and towards himself.”  They are opposites in many ways, most notably in their preferred pace of play.  In In the Indian Wells quarterfinals, they will meet for the ninth time.

The women’s Spanish No.1 will also be in action on Thursday, as defending champion Paula Badosa takes on one of the WTA’s hottest players this season, Veronika Kudermetova.  The winner of that quarterfinal will face either Maria Sakkari or Elena Rybakina, who also play on Thursday.  And the other ATP quarterfinal on the schedule features the other defending champion, Cam Norrie, taking on the youngest male quarterfinalist since 1989, Carlos Alcaraz.

Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule.  Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.


Paula Badosa (5) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (21) – Second on Stadium 1

The 2021 champion is on an nine-match win streak in the desert, and hasn’t dropped a set this fortnight.  However, Badosa is 0-3 lifetime against Kudermetova.  That includes a meeting in the qualifying rounds of this event three years ago, and two encounters in 2021.  Badosa has lost six of their seven sets contested.  However, Paula has developed into a much more confident, formidable player since they last met nearly 12 months ago.  And her style of play excels on the slow-playing hard courts of Indian Wells.  But Badosa’s history with Kudermetova is a serious concern, as is Veronika’s recent success.  She’s already reached two finals this season, and is now 5-1 in deciding sets.  Kudermetova’s success at smaller events is yet to translate at WTA 1000 tournaments or Majors, as this is her first time beyond the third round at either.  We’ve seen some surprising results in recent years at Indian Wells, yet a Kudermetova victory on Thursday would not be all that shocking.


Rafael Nadal (4) vs. Nick Kyrgios (WC) – Not Before 3:00pm on Stadium 1

Nadal leads their head-to-head 5-3.  However, Kyrgios has taken both of their encounters on North American hard courts.  That includes a contentious battle three years ago in Acapulco, decided by a third-set tiebreak, as well as a straight set victory five years ago in Cincinnati.  Even though Rafa is an undefeated 18-0 in 2022, he is admittedly at less than 100%, and on Wednesday described how the pain in his left foot is getting worse at this event progresses.  Nick will be fully fresh for this quarterfinal, as he received a walkover on Wednesday from an ill Jannik Sinner.  Even though Kyrgios arrived here only 8-8 over the last 24 months, he’s easily won his first three matches without an opponent winning more than four games in a set.  Coming off his first Major doubles title in Melbourne, Nick has played inspired tennis.  And you know he will be motivated to knock off Nadal.  I like his chances to do just that.


Other Notable Matches on Thursday:

Maria Sakkari (6) vs. Elena Rybakina (17) – Both players are yet to drop a set.  Rybakina won their only previous meeting, two years ago on a hard court in St. Petersburg.   

Cam Norrie (12) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (19) – Despite losing his first four matches of 2022, Norrie has now won 11 of his last 12.  Alcaraz has been dominant through three rounds, dropping 14 games through six sets.  At last year’s US Open, Carlos defeated Cam in straights.


Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.

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