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Nick Kyrgios of Australia (R) shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain at the net following their Men’s Singles fourth round match on day eight of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images)
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Nick Kyrgios of Australia (R) shakes hands with Rafael Nadal of Spain at the net following their Men’s Singles fourth round match on day eight of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Jonathan DiMaggio/Getty Images)
Rafael Nadal is often known to dominate his opponents on the tennis courts. He engages his opponents in long rallies and makes them run all over the court. Moreover, his never-say-die attitude makes him one of the toughest competitors on the tennis circuit. Additionally, the Spaniard has started the year brightly after missing the latter half of the previous season owing to injuries. He is currently on an 18-match winning streak since the beginning of this season.
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The former World Number 1 created history by becoming the first man to win 21 Major singles titles. Nadal is on an unbeaten run this season and has already clinched a hat-trick of titles. Further, the Spaniard is in Indian Wells where he is participating at the BNP Paribas Open. He has reached the quarterfinals and will take on Nick Kyrgios in the last-eight.
Rafael Nadal analyzes his quarterfinal opponent Nick Kyrgios in Indian Wells
After his round-of-16 win over the home hope, Reilly Opelka, Nadal opened up on facing the Australian in the quarterfinals. The Spaniard said, “He’s one of the toughest opponents on tour – everybody knows how good he is when he’s motivated, probably tomorrow he will be.”
Nadal on facing Nick Kyrgios in the quarters at Indian Wells: “He’s one of the toughest opponents on tour – everybody knows how good he is when he’s motivated, probably tomorrow he will be."
— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) March 16, 2022
Further, Nadal and Kyrgios have had a healthy on-court rivalry. They have been involved in some keenly-fought encounters. They first faced each other in 2014 at The Championships, Wimbledon. Offered a wild-card entry, Kyrgios caused the upset of the tournament as he knocked out the second seed, Nadal, in the fourth round.
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Rafael Nadal of Spain shakes hands at the net with Nick Kyrgios of Australia after their Men’s Singles second round match during Day four of The Championships – Wimbledon 2019 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 04, 2019 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Subsequently, the Spaniard has come back stronger since the 2014 Wimbledon setback. In their recent meetings, Nadal triumphed over Kyrgios at the 2019 Wimbledon and 2020 Australian Open. However, both the matches were closely-fought, with Nadal winning in four sets.
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Coming to the BNP Paribas Open 2022, Rafael Nadal had to grind his way through to the quarterfinals. He survived a scare in his second-round match against Sebastian Korda, triumphing in a three-setter thriller. On the contrary, Kyrgios has breezed his way through to the last eight in Indian Wells. Can Kyrgios upset the 21-time Grand Slam champion at Indian Wells 2022? Let us know your views in the comments below.
Written by
Edited by
Niranjan Deodhar