Nadal the man to beat, Osaka eyes return to glory at Indian Wells

Thursday, 10 March 2022 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

INDIAN WELLS (Reuters): Red-hot Rafa Nadal will be the man to beat when Indian Wells kicks off this week while Naomi Osaka will look to begin her ascent back to the top of the tennis world at the

Rafa Nadal

Naomi Osaka

tournament that launched her career.

Nadal’s season was cut short last year due to a foot injury but the Spaniard has come roaring out of the gates in 2022, winning January’s Australian Open for a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title.

He followed that up by winning his fourth title in Acapulco last month and has not lost in 15 matches this season.

“Rafa Nadal is now 35-years-old and he’s never had a start to the season like this one,” Indian Wells tournament Director and former player Tommy Haas said on a recent podcast.

“He’s the guy to beat here, there’s no doubt about it. And he obviously enjoys it here very much,” Haas said of Nadal, a three-time winner of the Masters 1000 tournament.

As a bonus, while in the Southern California desert, Nadal will stay at tournament owner and billionaire Larry Ellison’s private resort, Porcupine Creek Golf Club.

“Novak Djokovic is on the tournament entry list, and therefore is placed into the draw today,” tournament organisers wrote on Twitter Tuesday. “We are currently in communication with his team; however, it has not been determined if he will participate in the event by getting CDC approval to enter the country.”

Swiss Roger Federer will not be at the tournament as he is still recovering from knee surgery, while a cadre of emerging stars will be eager to topple Nadal.

Chief among them is Daniil Medvedev, who enters a tournament as the world number one for the first time, and big-serving Andrey Rublev, who won a title in Dubai last month.

On the women’s side, opportunity knocks for Naomi Osaka, who as a 20-year-old announced herself with a triumph at the WTA 1000 event in 2018. From there she won four grand slams, became the world’s highest-paid female athlete and sparked a conversation about mental health in sports.

But time away from the court after last year’s US Open has caused her world ranking to plummet and the former world number one is now number 78 and unseeded at the tournament.

The tournament, which is officially called the BNP Paribas Open, returns to its March date on the calendar after being cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and being moved to October last year.