Rafael Nadal is the only multi-time Indian Wells champion in this year's field
Rafael Nadal is the only player in the 2022 Indian Wells Masters to have won the tournament on multiple occasions in the past. The only other former champion in the draw is last year's winner Cameron Norrie.
The Spaniard has won the Indian Wells Masters thrice. His first triumph came in 2007, when he cruised to the title without dropping a set. Nadal reached the quarterfinals of the competition by defeating Arnaud Clement, Fernando Verdasco and Juan Carlos Ferrero.
He then beat Juan Ignacio Chela and Andy Roddick to set up a final clash with Novak Djokovic. Rafael Nadal beat the Serb 6-2, 7-5 to win the Indian Wells Masters for the very first time in his career.
The Spaniard's second title came in 2009, when he was the World No. 1. That year, Nadal beat Juan Martin del Potro and Andy Roddick before downing Andy Murray comfortably in the final.
In 2013, the King of Clay reached the final of the Indian Wells Masters after defeating Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych. He faced Del Potro in the final and found himself a set down. However, the fifth seed took the next two sets to win his third title at Indian Wells.
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@RafaelNadal is a 3-time champion at Indian Wells, winning it as a 20-year-old in 2007, then again in 2009 and 2013. He's the only multiple former champion in the men's tournament this year.
Nadal is also on a career-best 15-0 start to the year coming in.
Rafael Nadal has won all of his 15 matches this year
Rafael Nadal has enjoyed the best start to his career till date in 2022. He's on a winning streak of 15 matches. The Spaniard started by winning the Melbourne Summer Set 1 and followed it up by claiming a second Australian Open title. In the final, he came back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev and win a record 21st Grand Slam.
Rafael Nadal then competed at the Mexican Open and reached the final after defeating Denis Kudla, Stefan Kozlov, Tommy Paul and newly crowned World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev.
He then downed Cameron Norrie, also in straight sets, to win his third title of the year. With the win, Nadal climbed to fourth in the ATP rankings.
The Spaniard is the only member of the Big 3 who is yet to complete the Sunshine Double. But he is in prime position to achieve the feat this year given his current run of form.
Guess who is in Indian Wells and practicing already? 🤩
Will Rafael Nadal keep his winning streak going in first Masters 1000 event of 2022? 🤔
📸 Rafael Nadal | Instagram
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Nadal will start his campaign in Indian Wells against either Sebastian Korda or Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.
The King of Clay's longest winning streak on hardcourt is 30 matches. It began in the 2012 Miami Masters and continued till the 2013 China Open.