3 milestones awaiting Nadal at 2020 Indian Wells
Rafael Nadal is the most successful player in the history of Masters 1000 series, having won a record 35 titles and 384 matches in the tournament category. The first player to win 5 Masters 1000 titles in a season when he did so in 2013, Nadal won a record 6 titles in the tournament category before turning 20.
The 33-year-old holds the record for most finals (12) and titles (11) at a Masters 1000 tournament which he has accomplished at Monte Carlo and became the only player in the history of the series to win 9 titles at multiple Masters 1000 tournaments when he lifted the 2019 Rome Masters title.
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By winning the 2020 Acapulco Open for his first title of the season and the 85th of his illustrious career, Nadal extended his own record of most consecutive title-winning seasons to 17 which is only one behind Roger Federer and Andre Agassi's record of most title-winning seasons.
As the Spaniard prepares for his Masters 1000 tournament of the season at the 2020 Indian Wells Masters, here are 3 milestones which the 33-year-old could achieve at the tournament.
#1. Become the first player to win Masters 1000 titles in 3 different decades
Nadal lifted his 35th Masters 1000 title at the 2019 Coupe Rogers which marked his 5th title at the tournament and also the first time he successfully defended a hardcourt title during the course of his illustrious career.
In the process, the Spaniard won his 17th Masters 1000 title of the decade, having lifted 18 titles during the 2010s decade.
If the 19-time Grand Slam champion produces a title run at the 2020 Indian Wells Masters, it would make him the first player to win Masters 1000 titles in three different decades. Nadal is a three-time champion at Indian Wells, having lifted his titles at the tournament in 2007 (beat Novak Djokovic), 2009 (beat Andy Murray), and 2013 (beat Juan Martin Del Potro).
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#2. Become the first player to win a Masters 1000 title in 15 different seasons
Since winning his first Masters 1000 title at 2005 Monte Carlo following a four-set win over Argentine Guillermo Coria, Nadal's titles at the 2019 Rome Masters and the 2019 Coupe Rogers marked the 14th different season he lifted a Masters 1000 title.
By winning the 2020 Indian Wells Masters, Nadal would extend his own record in this respect to 15 different seasons, which would take him two clear of Roger Federer's tally of 13 different Masters 1000 title-winning seasons.
Nadal, who has reached a Masters 1000 final in 16 consecutive seasons (2005 to 2019) also holds the record of most consecutive Masters 1000 title-winning seasons (2005 to 2014).
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#3. Become the first player to lift multiple ATP titles in 16 consecutive seasons
Following a quarterfinal exit at the Australian Open to eventual finalist Dominic Thiem, Nadal won his first title of the 2020 season at the Acapulco Open, which marked a record 17th consecutive season where the Spaniard lifted an ATP singles title.
By triumphing at the 2020 Indian Wells Masters, Nadal would extend his record of consecutive multiple title-winning seasons to 16, having won at least two titles every season since 2005.
Federer holds the overall record for most seasons with multiple titles, having done so in 16 different (non-consecutive) seasons.
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