Day 8 Preview: Unbeaten Nadal Takes On Soaring Kyrgios In QF Showdown

After two years waiting for the next instalment of the Rafael Nadal v Nick Kyrgios rivalry, the stars have finally aligned in the California desert.

The pair’s ninth tour-level meeting headlines the quarter-final action at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday. Nadal leads 5-3 in the ATP Head2Head series between the two, but the Australian has settled into some vintage form in California and is yet to drop a set this week.

Three-time champion Nadal may have dropped a frame when being pushed to the brink by Sebastian Korda in the second round in Indian Wells, but the legendary Spaniard is still perfect in 2022 in the only department that really matters – winning matches. With every victory extending his personal-best start to a season, a win over Kyrgios would take him to 19-0.

“[I’m] happy to win, [it] doesn’t matter how many sets,” said Nadal after coming through two tie-breaks to oust Reilly Opelka in the fourth round on Wednesday. “Of course, I’m happy to be in the quarter-finals. That’s my best match of the tournament. I did what I had to do against a very difficult player like Reilly.”

Previous encounters with Kyrgios mean the 21-time Grand Slam champion is more than wary of the threat the wild card poses to his unbeaten run. The Australian has excelled in seeing off Sebastian Baez, Federico Delbonis, and World No. 8 Casper Ruud on his way to the last eight, and has a habit of raising his game even further when facing off against Nadal.

“Nick is playing great,” said Nadal. “He is one of the toughest opponents on Tour. Everyone knows how good he is when he is motivated. It is going to be a good test for me and good challenge.”

Kyrgios’ fourth round opponent Jannik Sinner withdrew from their clash on Wednesday due to illness, but the Australian will still carry the momentum of his opening three straight-sets victories with him into the quarter-final matchup. The wild card has spoken openly about the positive mindset powering his performances in Indian Wells as he hunts a maiden ATP Masters 1000 title, and his first at any level since 2019.

“I know what I’m capable of,” said Kyrgios after his third-round win over Ruud. “I think everyone does as well. It’s whether I put my mind to it. I feel rejuvenated. I just feel like I’m here, I’m happy, and I’m just ready to give my all every match.”

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The victor will be handed a semi-final assignment against either defending champion Cameron Norrie or Carlos Alcaraz. The second quarter-final in the top half of the draw is intriguingly set as two of the form players on Tour meet for the first time since the Spaniard ran out a straight-sets winner at the 2021 US Open.

Having turned his season on its head after kicking 2022 off with four straight defeats, Norrie was glad to return to the scene of his most famous victory for Wednesday’s fourth-round win over dangerous American Jenson Brooksby. The memories of his previous match on Stadium 1, in which he beat Nikoloz Basilashvili to clinch a maiden Masters 1000 title in the 2021 final, appeared to boost the Brit but he is ready for another tough fight against Spanish prodigy Alcaraz.

“I love playing on this court, obviously,” said Norrie after seeing off Brooksby. “I’m feeling good physically and I like the conditions here, but I got absolutely whacked by him [Alcaraz] last time. He’s one of the best up-and-coming players, really solid both sides, he won [an ATP 500 event] earlier this year. So he’s confident, and it’s going to be a tough one, but [I am] looking forward to hopefully getting some revenge on him.”

A task made all the more difficult given that Alcaraz’s level only appears to have risen since that meeting in New York in August. The Rio Open presented by Claro champion attributes that improvement to intense off-court fitness work, allowing him to stay at the top of his game for longer.

“My team and I know how important it is to be strong physically,” the 18-year-old said earlier this week. “It was one thing we knew I had to improve a lot. It was a great focus during preseason. I am really happy. It gives me more confidence. I have more of a chance to keep my level high during a three or four-hour match against the best players.”

This consistency will be put to the test against the rock-solid game of Norrie. “I’m going to be happy if I keep the level [from tonight],” Alcaraz said after beating Gael Monfils in straight sets in the fourth round. “But I always say that you can improve every day, you can do better every day.”

Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury face their first seeded opponents of the tournament when they take on No. 7 pairing Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski as the doubles quarter-finals are rounded out on Thursday.

Ram and Salisbury are looking to add to their maiden Masters 1000 title together, won in Toronto last year. The American-British pairing followed that run with a US Open triumph in September but have not reached the quarter-finals in two previous appearances together in Indian Wells. Ram has had success in the California desert before, however, lifting the trophy with Raven Klaasen in 2017.

Awaiting in the semi-finals will be an unseeded pairing. Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin take on Aslan Karatsev and Andrey Rublev in Thursday’s other quarter-final, the latter duo flying high after it took out third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the second round.

ORDER OF PLAY – THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 2022

STADIUM 1 start 11:00 am
WTA – [6] M. Sakkari (GRE) vs [17] E. Rybakina (KAZ)
WTA – [5] P. Badosa (ESP) vs [21] V. Kudermetova

Not Before 3:00 pm
ATP – [4] R. Nadal (ESP) vs [WC] N. Kyrgios (AUS)

Not Before 6:00 pm
ATP – [19] C. Alcaraz (ESP) vs [12] C. Norrie (GBR)
ATP – [7] W. Koolhof (NED) / N. Skupski (GBR) vs [2] R. Ram (USA) / J. Salisbury (GBR)

STADIUM 2 start 3:00 pm
ATP – [PR] S. Gonzalez (MEX) / E. Roger-Vasselin (FRA) vs A. Karatsev / A. Rublev

Not Before 5:00 PM
WTA – [5] G. Dabrowski (CAN) / G. Olmos (MEX) vs [7] A. Muhammad (USA) / E. Shibahara (JPN)

Not Before 7:00 PM
WTA – Y. Xu (CHN) / Z. Yang (CHN) vs A. Cornet (FRA) / L. Fernandez (CAN)