Rafael Nadal is “The guy to beat”: Former World No. 2 Tommy Haas heaps praises of the Spaniard and speaks on his upcoming challenges
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Tommy Haas on Rafael Nadal
Although many young athletes are vying for the title, tournament director Tommy Haas believes Rafael Nadal is the heavy favorite of the BNP Paribas Open. Given Nadal’s incredible form this year, Haas cannot be objected to this.
Rafa broke the men’s slam record by winning the Australian Open this year, surpassing Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer with 21 grand slam victories under his belt. His finals victory over Daniil Medvedev was also remarkable in that he fought back from a two-set deficit. He won in five grueling sets, 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. It was one of the best performances of the Spaniard’s career. He went on to win the Mexican Open a fortnight ago, giving him a 15-0 winning streak, continuing his unbeaten start to 2022.
The first ATP Masters 1000 event of the year is about to take place in Indian Wells, and former World No. 2 Haas is picking three-time BNP Paribas Open champion Rafael Nadal to win. On a recent episode of the Tennis Paradise Podcast, he discussed this. “Rafa Nadal is now 35-years-old and he’s never had a start to the season like this one, coming back from injury, winning three titles,” he said on the Tennis Paradise Podcast.
The three-time victor, according to the German, will be the player to beat in the American event. Rafa has already won the tournament three times and has had a better result there than any other hard-court Masters event. “He is, in my opinion, the guy to beat here, there is no doubt about it. And he obviously enjoys it here very much.” Haas said.
He also added, separating him from other young talents, “There are younger guys like [Andrey] Rublev, you look at [World No. 1 Daniil] Medvedev trying to prove a point, [Alexander] Zverev, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas, there are a lot of guys knocking on the door but Nadal has to be the favorite going into Indian Wells.”
Rafael Nadal will be one of the exclusive players to stay at Larry Ellison’s private residence
Nadal stated in a press release confirming his entry in the BNP Paribas Open that he is looking forward to playing tennis as well as golf in Indian Wells, and that being able to use his clubs will provide him with some additional comfort while away.
The BNP Paribas Open is owned by Larry Ellison, co-founder and executive chairman of Oracle, with whom Rafael Nadal is friendly. Haas mentioned this in the podcast saying, “He is one of the players that gets to stay at Porcupine Creek, Larry Ellison’s private residence, where he can play 18 to 36 holes of golf every day if he wants to,” Haas said. “He likes it there and wants to stay for as long as he can. If he’s healthy, watch out,” he added.
The Spaniard, who is seeded fourth at Indian Wells Masters, gets a first-round bye and will face either Sebastian Korda or a qualifier in his opener.
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Shilpi Pusadkar
(106 Articles Published)