Indian Wells: Rafael Nadal overcomes Reilly Opelka, proceeds to quarter-final
Spanish ace Rafael Nadal entered the quarter-final of the 2022 Indian Wells Masters after beating America's Reilly Opelka on Wednesday. The Spaniard won 7-6(3), 7-6(5), thereby claiming his second consecutive victory over Opelka. Nadal continues his perfect run in the season, having improved to an 18-0 record. Nadal, a three-time champion at the Indian Wells, will face Nick Kyrgios in the quarter-final.
Nadal won his 401st Masters 1000 match. He won a total of 93 points, while his opponent Opelka won 26 winners in the match. The former won 89% of the net points (8/9) and 81% of the service points (59/73).
"I think I played well. It is difficult because you need to find the right balance. When you are playing points from the baseline you think you can't miss because you won't have a lot of opportunities. So you need to find the balance to not allow him to come in and not taking big risks," Nadal said after the match.
Nadal has improved his win-loss record to 57-10 at the Indian Wells. He has won three titles (2007, 2009, and 2013). The Spaniard reached the semi-finals in 2019. Swiss maestro Roger Federer received a walkover in the penultimate match. Interestingly, he defeated Nadal in the 2017 edition too. The latter will now face Nick Kyrgios in the last eight.
In February, Nadal had won the Mexican Open after beating Cameron Norrie in the final. Prior to that, the former won his second Australian Open title with a phenomenal win over Daniil Medvedev in the final. Nadal became the first man (Open Era) to clinch 21 Grand Slam titles. He is now unbeaten in 18 matches in 2022, his career-best start to a season.
Nadal is vying to win his 37th Masters 1000 title. Presently, he has the second-most titles at this stage (36) after Djokovic. Federer follows Nadal with 28 titles. Earlier in the tournament, Nadal earned his 400th career ATP Masters 1000 victory. Players with most Masters 1000 career wins - Nadal: 401, Roger Federer: 381, Novak Djokovic: 374, Andy Murray: 219, Andre Agassi: 209.
