Fernando Verdasco once deemed it the best match he had played. Five hours and 14 minutes of no-holds-barred shot-making - two Spaniards trading blows under lights on a heaving Rod Laver Arena, a shootout he would ultimately fall short in against his more decorated countryman, Rafael Nadal, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4. On Tuesday, the pair will resume their rivalry in the round of 32 at the BNP Paribas Open. The fifth-seeded Nadal has lost three of his past five matches against the No. 29 seed but still leads their overall FedEx ATP Head2Head series 15-3. The five-hour-plus marathon match between the two southpaws came in the semi-finals of the Australian Open eight years ago and at the time was...
Fifth seed Rafael Nadal faces another potentially epic battle against Fernando Verdasco after scoring a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Guido Pella in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Nadal leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against the 26th seed Verdasco 15-3, but five of their seven most recent meetings went to a deciding set. However, Nadal has won both of their previous encounters in Indian Wells, scoring third-round victories in 2007 and 2016. Pella got off to a hot start, breaking Nadal in the third game of their first meeting. But the fifth-seeded Spaniard settled in and reeled off six of the next seven games to clinch the opener...
Rafael Nadal has traveled the world competing on the ATP World Tour, but the Spaniard says that one place has a special place in his heart. Speaking to the Indian Wells faithful on a brisk Friday night at the BNP Paribas Open, following a first-round doubles victory with Bernard Tomic, Nadal conveyed his admiration for the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year. Nestled in the sun-drenched Coachella Valley, it's tennis in paradise. "It's no doubt that these are my two favorite weeks of the year," said Nadal. Nadal returns to his happy hunting ground in the California desert, having lifted the trophy on five occasions - three times in singles and twice in doubles. The 29...
Doubles was the hot ticket on Friday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, with Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal all taking the court ahead of their singles campaigns. Teaming up with Bernard Tomic, Nadal survived a tense second-set tie-break to secure a 6-4, 7-6(7) victory over Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa in the night session on Stadium 1. Nadal and Tomic, playing together for the first time, let slip three match points at 6/3 in the tie-break, but regrouped to convert their fourth opportunity after one hour and 33 minutes. Nadal is a former doubles champion at the BNP Paribas Open, lifting the trophy in 2010 and 2012 with Marc Lopez, who was courtside to watch his...
