Grand Slam king Rafael Nadal off to best start to a season in his career

INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — Rafael Nadal stood in the middle of Rod Laver Arena in January, on what he described as one of the most emotional nights of his tennis career. The crowd cheered, on its feet, in the background as Nadal occasionally paused to hold back tears on a warm Australian evening.

Three months earlier, before he claimed a record 21st Grand Slam singles title, a chronic foot injury had Nadal at least pondering retirement. He had won Roland Garros in 2020 but at various points last year he could barely walk.

Nadal played just seven events in 2021, missing Wimbledon, the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. Open and the BNP Paribas Open, which was moved from March to October. His last event of the year was in Washington, D.C., in August.

This week, the Spanish tennis star enters the BNP Paribas Open as a clear favorite, riding the best start to a year of his career. After ending last year prematurely due to that hobbled left foot, Nadal is now 15-0 and has won all three tournaments he’s entered.

“It seems like he’s on his like eighth life in tennis with all the injuries,” said Tennis Channel analyst Lindsay Davenport, a three-time Grand Slam singles champion. “His foot was so bad last year. I remember watching him in the hallway in Roland Garros where there’s some cameras after he lost that match to Novak, barely being able to walk. That was like, ‘Wow, his foot must really be hurt,’ and his team helping him up those stairs, I’m thinking, ‘Wow, I didn’t know he was that hurt.’”

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As the world focused on Novak Djokovic’s clash with Australian health authorities over the country’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, Nadal began to reclaim his dominating form on the hard courts of the Australian Open. He beat Marcos Giron and Yannick Hanfmann without dropping a set, and then took down Karen Khachanov, Adrian Mannarino and Dennis Shapovalov before eliminating Matteo Berrettini in the semifinals.

In the final, Nadal came from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev, now the top-ranked player in the world. Nadal was suddenly playing like his old self. His foot somehow held up during the legendary five-hour-and-24-minute match.

“It’s insane,” said Spain’s Paula Badosa, the returning BNP Paribas Open women’s champion. “He was two sets down and not against, I don’t know, No. 70 in the world, which is still very tough. But no, against Medvedev is even crazier.”

It became evident two weeks later, in Acapulco, that Nadal’s run was no fluke. He won five matches, including another win over Medvedev, without dropping a set to earn his third title of the year.

then won the BNP Paribas Open to complete his best start to a season in over a decade.

Nadal is on a similar, perhaps even more impressive run to begin 2022. Whether that continues at Indian Wells will be the storyline of the tournament.

The last three times Nadal lost at the BNP Paribas Open, the losses came against rivals Federer and Djokovic. Federer will not play in Indian Wells this year, and Djokovic’s status remains in question, though as of Wednesday he was still in the draw.

Nadal came to the desert early this year, before most players typically arrive. He likes to play golf while he’s in town and often stays at Porcupine Creek, the 230-acre estate owned by billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison, who owns the BNP Paribas Open.

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