World no.4 Rafael Nadal has started to practice here at the Centre Court of Indian Wells Masters in California starting from March 8. The 21-time grand slam champion is eyeing his fourth Indian Wells title after winning in 2007, 2009 and 2013.
The Spaniard is gearing up for his 15th participation in Indian Wells ATP 1000 Masters. The 35-year-old has been unbeaten in the year 2022 winning 15 matches to maintain a record of 15-0. Nadal first claimed the Melbourne Summer Set ATP 250 event followed by the Australian Open 2022 title in January and then clinching the Mexican Open ATP 500 crown in Acapulco in February. The 21-time Grand Slam champion will start as a favourite as World no.2 and 20-time grand slam champion Novak Djokovic is giving this tournament a miss.
If Nadal is able to gather three victories at Californian desert then the 35-year-old will smash the record of 17 wins of Pete Sampras and Roger Federer’s unbeaten starts in 1997 and 2018 respectively.
The longest record of being unbeaten at the start of the season belongs to Novak Djokovic who has won 41 matches on the trot in 2011. In 2020 the Serb was unbeaten for the 26 matches.