Rafael Nadal might be on a 18-match winning streak but he expects his quarter-final clash with Nick Kyrgios at the BNP Paribas Open to be a stern test.
The world No.4 secured his place in the last eight of the tournament with a 7-6(3), 7-6(5), win over the fast-serving American Reilly Opelka. A player who won the Dallas Open followed by reaching the final of the Delray Beach Open during February. In their clash, Nadal won 84% of his first service points and managed to claw his way back from a 2-4 deficit in the second frame to win in straight sets.
“I’m happy of course to be in the quarterfinals of this great tournament, I’m playing better without a doubt,” Nadal said afterwards. “This was my best match of the tournament. Happy with the way that I was able to play during the whole match. I only played one bad game with myself. For the rest I think I played solid. I did what I had to do against a very difficult player to play like Reilly.”
Nadal has become only the second player since 1990 to have started a season with a win-loss record of 18-0. The other player to have achieved the milestone is Djokovic in 2011 and 2020. Djokovic’s all-time record for the best ever start to a season is 41-0.
Hoping to continue his winning streak, the Spaniard faces the unpredictable Nick Kyrgios next in what could be a tricky encounter. Kyrgios progressed to the last eight of the tournament after Jannik Sinner withdrew from the draw due to illness. The Australian has already recorded wins over Sebastian Baez, Federico Delbonius and Casper Ruud in what is only his second tournament of the year.
“Nick is difficult in any conditions, no? When he’s playing well and when he’s excited and motivated, he’s one of the toughest opponents without a doubt,” said Nadal.
“Tomorrow (Thursday) is going to be a tough match, but we are in quarterfinals of Indian Wells, Masters 1000. We can’t expect anything else. I have to expect a very tough opponent.’
“I hope to be ready for it. I need to play well and let’s see if I’m able to make that happen hopefully.”
Nadal currently leads Kyrgios 5-3 in their head-to-head with their last meeting occurring in the 2020 Australian Open.
Besides his upcoming opponent, the 35-year-old continues to deal with his long-term foot condition which sidelined him from the Tour at the end of last year. He suffers from Mueller-Weiss syndrome, which is a degenerative disease that causes a deformity of one of the bones in the central part of the foot.
“It’s true that the last couple of days my foot has been bothering me a little bit more. Something that can happen,” Nadal explains. “We know that. Just try to be ready and stay positive because this is going to be my last tournament on hard. After we going to go back to clay. That probably helps a little bit more.’
“Hopefully the foot can keep holding. I am not thinking about the foot much. I am just thinking about my tennis and my next opponent. If something happens, we need to accept it.”
Nadal is seeking his fourth title in Indian Wells and first since 2013.
