Nadal: “I would have liked to see a harsher punishment for Zverev”

Rafa Nadal, three times champion in singles (2007, 2009 and 2013) and twice in doubles with Marc López (2010 and 2012) in Indian Wells, reaches the 46th edition of the tournament, whose ATP table began this Thursday, in the best start to the season of his career, with three titles (Melbourne, Australian Open and Acapulco) and a record of 15-0. The Spaniard can equal Djokovic’s 37 Masters 1,000, absent as he cannot enter the United States due to not being vaccinated. Although to achieve this he would have to overcome Medvedev in the semifinals.

Nadal will debut on Saturday in the second round against the American Korda or the Australian Kokkinakis, two rivals that he has already faced successfully. This Thursday, after training with the Greek Tsitsipas (the day before he had a rally with Carlos Alcaraz), he attended the press and, among other things, spoke about one of the keys to his great start to the year, the constant adaptation to his almost 36 years: “I’ve always been able to find a way to adapt my game when I needed to improve. Some days I’ve played aggressively, others a little more defensively and more tactically.” Likewise, he is clear that the serve is giving him very good returns: “My service has been working well, which is important at this stage of my career. I think I have been brave enough to play with the right determination when it was necessary “.

Nadal gave his opinion on the sanction against Alexander Zverev for the incident that the German was involved in in Acapulco, a warning and a $25,000 fine. “I don’t want Sascha to be punished, because I like him and I have a good relationship with him. He knows he was wrong, he quickly admitted it. This is a positive from him. But as a fan, I would like to see a harsher punishment for this kind of behavior, not only on his part, but in general because it protects the sport, the referees and all those involved. It would be necessary to create a rule that punishes this type of attitude more harshly, “said the Spaniard, who celebrated his return to Indian Wells. “Finally a bit of calm after three, in my opinion, terrible years of suffering around the world. Hopefully this new thing (the war in Ukraine) ends as soon as possible.”

enjoy every day

“I’ve been here for more than a week,” Nadal added. “I always enjoy myself here. It’s one of my favorite tournaments, for sure. I take it day by day, just trying to enjoy the moment. It’s unexpected for me to be in this position, so I enjoy it every day and I try to also enjoy the fact that I’m playing well. I’ve already won three titles this year and that’s unbelievable for me.”