Rafael Nadal to Face Milos Raonic in First Round at Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal will meet an old acquaintance for his return to Indian Wells. The draw for the men’s draw on Monday designated Milos Raonic as the Spaniard’s opponent in the first round. The Mallorcan, back after almost a year of absence at the start of the year in Brisbane, reached the quarter-finals of the tournament before giving up participating in the Australian Open due to a muscle micro-tear. He hasn’t played again since. Three times winner at Indian Wells, he will meet the Canadian for the 11th time, with a record of 8 victories for 2 defeats so far.

If Nadal made a winning comeback, he would find the Dane Holger Rune, seeded N.7, during the 2nd round, in the upper part of the table. The one where Novak Djokovic and Ugo Humbert appear. The world number one, who will begin his tournament against the Australian Aleksandar Vukic or a qualifier, could cross swords with the French number one in the round of 16.

Sinner – Alcaraz in the semi-final?

Humbert will enter the fray against the American Patrick Kypson or a qualifier before a potential 3rd round against Tommy Paul. In the same part of the draw Adrian Mannarino will face the winner of the match between Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Machac in the first round, before possibly meeting Daniil Medvedev in the round of 16.

At the bottom of the table, Carlos Alcaraz’s journey looks quite tough. The defending champion could face Luca Van Assche for his entry into the running, Félix Auger-Aliassime in the 3rd round, Alexander Zverev or Alex De Minaur in the quarter-final and Jannik Sinner in the semi-final. The Italian, winner of the Australian Open and undefeated for fifteen matches, will start against the winner of the duel between Thanasi Kokkinakis and Marcos Giron.

2024-03-05 07:16:00
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