Can Nadal win Indian Wells this year?

Will Nadal win Indian Wells?


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IW is a fun, big tournament but the courts are god awful.
It depends on who you're rooting for. Ellison has slowed the court speed to a crawl and Rafa loves that. He stays at Larry's compound and plays golf on his off days. Players like Isner would obviously prefer a faster surface. Its HC clay essentially.
 
Courts are ridiculously slow and high bouncing at that tournament. It's almost like a clay court. With that in mind, surely he's got that tournament in the bag, along with the 3 out of 3 tournaments he's already won this year?

edit: actually not entirely sure if they are high bouncing. I know they are slow though.
Who's stopping him?
Medvedev has nothing over him on these courts.
Tsitsipas can probably take a set, but his backhand would be under so much attack and nadal's serve would be a hell of a trouble for him.

Let's go for #5 in the California, Vamossssssssss
 
I would say it's certainly possible, but anything but a certainty.
He is going to have several losses this year. I am not buying into the theories he's going to win CYGS, have an ATG year.
So far, yes he's won a slam. But the two other titles are Melbourne and Acapulco. Not even Rome and Madrid level.
 
I would say it's certainly possible, but anything but a certainty.
He is going to have several losses this year. I am not buying into the theories he's going to win CYGS, have an ATG year.
So far, yes he's won a slam. But the two other titles are Melbourne and Acapulco. Not even Rome and Madrid level.
But Acapulco had a better field than most Masters and some slams as well. Although Nadal's draw collapsed
 
Of course he can. The tour is a joke right now and if Djokovic isn’t there to stop him it’s an easy ride. Medvedev sure as hell isn’t getting the job done. The only other guy I wouldn’t mind seeing him play is Aliassime. I want to see what Felix can do against him.
Make 3 unforced errors per game
 
It depends on who you're rooting for. Ellison has slowed the court speed to a crawl and Rafa loves that. He stays at Larry's compound and plays golf on his off days. Players like Isner would obviously prefer a faster surface. Its HC clay essentially.
If its a HC clay, how did old federer make final of basically every edition he played last decade? And even beat nadal comfortably?
 
Of course he can. He has already proven he can beat top players and is competing/moving well.
If the question is will he win, then that is not as foregone conclusion or sure bet as things used to be.
 
It depends on who you're rooting for. Ellison has slowed the court speed to a crawl and Rafa loves that. He stays at Larry's compound and plays golf on his off days. Players like Isner would obviously prefer a faster surface. Its HC clay essentially.
In my opinion, slow hardcourt is the worst surface. I think all hardcourt surfaces should be medium to fast, while overall there should be an increase in clay court tournaments.

I mean, if it's slow at least on clay there's variety and angle; the geometry of the game changes in a way that's interesting. Slow hardcourt just becomes a battle of attrition.
 
I’ve played at Indian Wells and it is a very slow hard court, but it is not high-bouncing like clay. In the night, the bounce is even lower. It favors players who take the ball early rather than those who stand 10-15 feet behind the baseline which is why Djokovic and Federer have done better there compared to Nadal. If Djokovic doesn’t play, there is no one else on tour taking the ball really early and Nadal is in as good a form as any other top player. He has got to be super-confident right now and that makes him the favorite.
 
Courts are ridiculously slow and high bouncing at that tournament. It's almost like a clay court. With that in mind, surely he's got that tournament in the bag, along with the 3 out of 3 tournaments he's already won this year?

edit: actually not entirely sure if they are high bouncing. I know they are slow though.
At this point it seems foolish to doubt him.
 
Do you think zverev will get to play? ATP is apparently still investigating. I think he should get atleast a 1 month ban.
Also, why have you left med out of top 4 contenders?
Medvedev is very vulnerable on slow high bouncing courts as he lacks a plus one shot really. Huge problem on courts where the ball sits up . His flat shots in conditions like Indian Wells will not be effective at all. Miami he will be a bigger threat.
I hope Zverev plays as I like him and he has been unfairly targeted by the media for a couple of years now.
 
He should skip IW and try to get a maiden Miami title… no need to play two more hard court tourneys before the clay and risk what’s been a ridiculously healthy first 2 months of the year. VAMOS!!
I think Rafa is 100% going to IW, he always plays there when he's healthy. He's won it 3 times, and he's friends with Larry Ellison (tourney's owner) and probably Tommy Haas (tourney's director) as well so I have a hard time seeing him not play in the desert
 
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