With Indian Wells becoming the center of attention in the tennis world for the next two weeks, let’s turn our clocks back to 2013 when Rafael Nadal squashed a major myth and criticism surrounding his career and achievm. Nadal won the tournament and became the male tennis player with the highest number of ATP 1000 Masters titles in tennis history.
Nadal won his 22nd title, breaking Roger Federer’s joint record with him for 21. Both Federer and Nadal entered the tournament with 21 titles each, and it was a rush between the two greats to see who would reach the summit first. In the quarter-final, when Nadal was opposite Federer, it meant that one of their dreams was ending there. The match was important for more than just entering the semi-final. It was virtually a knockout game between both legends, which would then decide who was the better hardcourt player.
Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer 6-4, 6-2 to enter the semi-final. But he also broke perceptions and myths about him being a one-trick pony, i.e. essentially a clay court player. Nadal is indeed like a magician on clay. He won 14 French Open titles, 63 of his 92 titles, and 112 matches on clay courts alone. All of these records are more than anyone else on the surface in the history of the sport.
However, he has also been terrific on hard courts. He won 6 Grand Slams (4 US Open and 2 Australian Open), and 25 titles on hard courts. His impressive hard court record often falls short in comparison to his clay court record, and hence the stereotypical image.
However, with his 22nd ATP 1000 Masters win, no one could question his skills on hard court anymore. Today, the highest number of ATP 1000 Masters titles won is 40 by Novak Djokovic. Following him is Rafael Nadal at 36 titles, who went on to win another 14 titles after 2013. Roger Federer comes in at the third spot with 28 titles.
How did Rafael Nadal win his 22nd ATP 1000 Masters and 3rd Indian Wells title?
Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 in the semi-final and Juan Martin del Potro 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final to win the trophy. It was his 3rd and his last Indian Wells trophy to date. Nadal started his 2013 BNP Paribas Open campaign with a tie-breaker win over Ryan Harrison of the US. He won 7-6 (7-3), 6-2 in the second-round match. Given that he was a 5th-seeded player, he could directly start from the second round. It was a rare moment for someone coming close to winning a set against him.
He got a walkover in the third round against Leonardo Mayer and lost the first set of the fourth-round match against Ernests Gulbis. He won it 4-6, 6-4, 7-5. It was a pretty unscathed tournament for Nadal otherwise.
