Rafael Nadal, the Majorcan legend with 22 Grand Slam titles, the last in 2022, is expected in the evening session on Thursday to start the first Masters 1000 of the tennis season, on hard court.
Fallen to 652nd place in the world and therefore unseeded, Rafael Nadal will face the Canadian Milos Raonic before a possible spicy second round against the Dane Holger Rune, world No. 7.
The Spaniard, who suggested that the 2024 season could be his last, dreams of being competitive for the clay court season and especially at Roland-Garros for his favorite fortnight (May 20-June 9) then for the Olympic Games from Paris (July 26-August 11).
He missed almost the entire 2023 season and underwent two surgeries to repair a hip, before announcing his return in December.
After playing three matches in Brisbane in January, he had to withdraw from the Australian Open immediately after suffering a muscle injury.
Last Saturday, he was able to measure himself during an exhibition in Las Vegas (United States) against his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz, world No. 2 and defending champion at Indian Wells.
“During the first set, I played at a good level, even though it had been a long time since I had played (...), I felt much better than expected,” commented “Rafa”.
“The level of tennis is one thing, the ghost of injuries is another,” he added during a lost match (3-6, 6-4, 14-12).
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Nadal lost the final during his last visit to Indian Wells in 2022 against the American Taylor Fritz.
He has already won the tournament three times (2007, 2009 and 2013).
The return of another fantastic is expected, that of the Serbian Novak Djokovic, who has not played since the end of January and his defeat in the final of the Australian Open against the Italian Jannik Sinner.
“Nole” has not lined up at Indian Wells for five years, missing a few editions due to not wanting to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Welcome back to the United States since last summer, the record holder for Grand Slam titles (24) remains in the Californian tournament following an elimination in the 3rd round in 2019 against the German Philipp Kohlschreiber.
The Serbian world No. 1 has already lifted the trophy five times (2008, 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2016) and is chasing the 99th title of his career.