Indian Wells 2019: Rafael Nadal Recalls Emotional 2013 Victory

Spanish tennis star, Rafael Nadal is currently competing in Indian Wells 2019. Recently he spoke to the BNP Paribas website about the BNP Paribas Open and Indian Wells. Back in 2013, the former World Number 1 returned from injury to play at the Open. To make matters even sweeter, he went on to clinch the title, his third one at the time.

Nadal said, “Well, 2013 was very emotional for me, I came back after a very long period of time. I started playing on clay so I was not sure if I had to come here or not, on hard court for my knee. But at the last moment I decided to come. Amazing to play good tennis, its very special.”

The Indian Wells tournament is part of the ‘Sunshine Double’ along with Miami. It is only after that that the clay season truly kicks off. Rafael Nadal was next asked what another Indian Wells win would mean to him.

Nadal continued, “Difficult to imagine that because just getting to the finals is good for me. Let’s see, it’s gonna be a tough one, but of course, if I’m able to keep going, it’ll be an amazing thing.”

Rafael Nadal will be facing Russian player Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals of Indian Wells 2019 tomorrow. If he wins this clash, he could face Roger Federer in the semifinals. Federer is currently playing against Hubert Hurkacz for a chance in the semifinals.

With Novak Djokovic being downed early on in the tournament, Nadal and Federer have a chance to close the gap. Coming back to Nadal’s quarterfinal match, the last time Nadal and Khachanov met, the former triumphed in four sets at the US Open.

Khachanov downed American player John Isner to reach the quarters while Rafael Nadal saw off a challenge from Filip Krajinovic.