The fourth round of the MEN's Singles competition for the 2022 ATP Indian Wells Masters continued, with Nadal, the No. 4 seed and king of clay, defeating the powerful Opelka through two sets of seven games, and successfully advanced to the men's singles quarterfinals while winning 18 consecutive wins in the new season. In the next round, he will face old rival Kyrgios, who received a retirement gift from his opponent in a battle with Italian rising star Sina. The quarter-final between Nadal and Kyrgios has also made many fans wait. Although Nadal has soared and won alone this season, his foot injury may become the biggest stumbling block.
Kyrgios has beaten Nadal on hard courts many times, who will the victory in this match belong to? Nadal's opening performance in the 2022 season has made many tennis celebrities exclaim. World tennis legend Rodravol said in an interview that he has admiration for Nadal and expects the Spaniard to make a bigger history this season. Coming to Indian Wells, the 21-time Grand Slam champion is on fire and is expected to win back-to-back titles. Kyrgios is also in good form at the moment, and after the withdrawal of opponent Sinar, Kyrgios won without a fight.
Therefore, compared to Nadal, he has a certain advantage in physical reserves. This is the second time that Kyrgios has reached the men's singles quarterfinals of the Indian Wells tournament after a gap of five years, and looking forward to the match with Nadal, he said that all he needs to do is play the highest tennis. For this powerful dialogue between Nadal and Kyrgios, many people think that it is a five-and-five situation. Nadal's biggest difficulty is the recurrence of a foot injury, and after advancing to the quarterfinals, he revealed in the post-match press conference that his feet did react in the past few days, which would affect the running and defense of the game.
But since it was the last event on the hard court, Nadal said he would definitely do his best to prepare for the clay season. Kyrgios and Nadal are old rivals and know each other very well. Judging from the record of the two, Nadal had the upper hand with a 5-3 loss, but the record of the two on the hard court was 2-2. Coupled with the fact that Kyrgios has been in hot form lately and is not afraid of Nadal on the hardball court, who wins and who loses in this game depends on the state of the field and the grasp of the fighter. Some fans speculate that Nadal has won 18 consecutive wins in the beginning of the year, and perhaps Kyrgios will become the terminator of espanyol's winning streak.
For this Indian Wells race, Nadal admitted that the goal is to warm up for the clay season, and the ultimate goal is to strive for the French Open. Serbian King Djokovic will appear in Roland Garros, and his showdown with Nadal will be staged passionately. At last season's French Open, Djokovic beat Nadal in the semi-finals and successfully reached the top in the final, achieving a double-lap Grand Slam feat. After a year, if the two heavenly kings met again, what would be the scene?
(Luo Treasurer)