Nadal with leg pain still beat Kyrgios to set a record, afraid to meet 18-year-old “copy”

(Sports news, tennis news) Before the match against Nick Kyrgios, Rafael Nadal was injured but he still played extremely impressively.

Rafael Nadal currently the player who owns the most Grand Slam titles (21 titles), he is second in the Masters 1,000 title (36 championships, behind Djokovic 37 times crowned).

Nadal beats Kyrgios to get 76th semi-final of Masters tennis

With the defeat of Kyrgios to win a ticket to the semi-finals of Indian Wells, “Gaur” Nadal increased his record as the player with the most semi-finals of the Masters events with 76 times. Djokovic is second with 71 times, Federer is third with 66 times.

Nadal also reached his 19th all-time win, had the best start to the season of his career, in addition to this being Rafa’s second-longest winning streak on hard courts. “Gaur” used to have a streak of 30 wins in the 2012-2013 season, this is a great opportunity for the 36-year-old tennis player to break his own record.

Before the match, many people expressed concern when Rafa was not in the best shape. After the match with tennis player Reilly Opelka, “Gaur” revealed he had a sore leg, but Nadal’s performance against Kyrgios helped his fans “breathe”.

Rafa’s next opponent in the quarterfinals is a player he is afraid to meet, because Rafa has a certain respect for Carlos Alcaraz, his 18-year-old compatriot “junior”.

Having defeated Alcaraz at Madrid Masters 2021, but Rafa said: “He (Alcaraz) gets to work with a great team. He has many factors that make him a great player such as passion, hard work, can quality and humility. Carlos reminds me of myself when I was 17, 18 years old.”

“There’s no doubt he’s a big competitor now and in the future too. I’m not selfish, I’m thinking positively. He’s a great star in our country, he’s enough. strength to win important titles for many years to come,” Rafa praised the opponent wholeheartedly.

The semi-final between Rafa and Alcaraz will take place on March 20.