Rafael Nadal has already reached Indian Wells, California, for the 2024 BNP Paribas Open and he shared the news with his fans by posting a picture of him practicing there. The Spaniard last played at the tournament in 2022 and he was the runner-up back then. He will look to have an equally positive performance in the tournament this time.
The Spaniard has a pretty good record at Indian Wells. He has won the tournament three times: in 2007, 2009 and 2013. Had he not lost to Taylor Fritz in the final of the 2022 Indian Wells, the tally would have increased to four. Right now, he is two trophies away from matching Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer’s record of winning the Indian Wells the most number of times (5).
Coincidentally, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic traveled to Los Angeles together. They happened to share the same flight and met in business class. The Serb shared a selfie of the two of them on his Instagram account with the caption, “Great company on the way to USA” and it took the internet by storm.
If the Spaniard is to win his fourth title at Indian Wells this year, he will have to compete against the same Djokovic, who is returning to the tournament after five years. The Serb last played in the tournament back in 2019 and he will definitely be one of the favorites to lift the trophy.
Rafael Nadal sets major Instagram milestone amid his Indian Wells preparation
While Nadal is busy preparing for the 2024 Indian Wells, he has casually set a major milestone on the social media platform Instagram. He is now the first ever tennis player to hit 21 million followers on the app and with this, he has further extended his lead over his nearest competitor, Serena Williams, who has 17.2 million. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are third and fourth on the list of the most followed tennis players on Instagram, with 14.4 million and 12.1 million followers, respectively.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner will be making his comeback in the 2024 Indian Wells after suffering a muscle issue during his quarterfinal match against Jordan Thompson in the 2024 Brisbane International. That, by the way, was his first tournament in a year after suffering a hip flexor injury in the 2023 Australian Open. Thus, he will be taking part in the Indian Wells after a long and recurring problem of injuries.
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