Rafael Nadal, a player with a nagging foot injury became the second player in ATP Tour History to begin a season 18-1. He beat Reilly Opelka 7-6 (3) and 7-6 (5) Wednesday in the fourth round at the BNP Paribas Open.
Since 1990, only Novak Djokovic has had better starts than Novak Djokovic. The Serb was 26-0 at the start of 2020, and 41-0 by the end of 2011.
Nadal stated, “I cannot say it’s real because I couldn’t even dream about that three or two months ago.” “I’m just enjoying each moment.”
Nadal was unable to play last year due to COVID-19 and injuries. This made it doubtful that he would be able to continue his high standards of performance. He won his 21st Grand Slam title in January at the Australian Open and has been on a tear since then.
Nadal, who turns 36 this June, said that he is just happy to play tennis. “Today was a little more difficult than the other days. The foot has been bothering my feet for the past couple of days.
Nadal has already pulled out of the Miami Open, which follows Indian Wells. He needs more time to prepare for clay courts that aren’t as punishing than hard courts.
Nadal recovered from a deficit of 2-4 in the second set and took a 6-5 lead. Opelka was still in the match after Opelka had won three deuces. Nadal scored a forehand to chase the American’s drop shot and force the second tiebreaker.
Nadal was leading 4-1 in tiebreaker after Opelka failed to return his service returns. The 6-foot-11 American won 4-3 on his serve. He hit winners on a drop shot as well as a forehand.
Opelka was again successful on his serve and closed at 6-5
Nadal ended the match by pulling Opelka from the court. The American’s backhand hit wide.
Nadal stated, “It’s all about hitting balls that don’t require a lot of risk, but don’t let him go in and take the shot.” It’s about finding the right balance between these two things.”
The first set had no service breaks. Opelka won the seventh game’s only break point with a smash-and-forehand win. Nadal was in love at 6-all and forced the tiebreaker. Opelka was leading 3-2 with a forehand win down the line. Nadal won five of the next points on Opelka’s errors to win the set.
Since losing to John Isner in the 2017 Laver Cup, Nadal has improved to 19-0 against American competitors.
Nadal, who is a three-time desert champion, reached the quarterfinals against wild card Nick Kyrgios. After Jannik Sinner, the 10th-seeded player in Washington, withdrew due to illness, Nadal advanced to his first ATP Tour quarterfinal.
Taylor Fritz threw 14 aces to outlast Alex de Minaur, who was 3-6, 6 and 6-4.
Fritz, who reached Indian Wells’ semifinals last year, said, “I feel more confident in my shot so when it comes to crunch time, it feels like I can kinda trust what I want, trust my game.”
In the quarterfinals Fritz will play Miomir Kecmanovic from Serbia. Kecmanovic defeated 14 aces by No. 6 seed Matteo Berrettini in a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 victory.
John Isner was defeated by Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria, 6-3-7-6 (6)
