World number one Nadal, chasing an 11th title at the tournament, a week after claiming the Monte Carlo Masters for an 11th time, will next face Slovakia’s Martin Klizan
Browsing: Rafael Nadal
The world number one recovered from going a break down early in the first set to win 6-3 6-2 in 93 minutes and has now won 36 consecutive sets on clay, a run which stretches back to the first round of last year’s French Open
The 31-year-old Nadal needs to win an 11th Monaco title to retain the number one ranking ahead of Roger Federer, and will be a red-hot favourite against Japan’s Nishikori in Sunday’s final
It looked a straightforward afternoon for the 31-year-old Spaniard when he clinched the first three games but Dimitrov worked his way back with a quick break to make it 3-3.
The world number one has recently made his return from injury, but the left-hander has not taken long to find his form on the clay and was able to dispatch Thiem by a 6-0 6-2 scoreline.
The 31-year-old made his comeback from a hip injury with two wins in Spain’s Davis Cup quarter-final victory over Germany last weekend, having not played previously since January’s Australian Open.
World number one Nadal had not played since he retired from his Australian Open quarter-final against Marin Cilic in January with a leg injury, but made light work of Kohlschreiber.
The 16-time Grand Slam winner has been sidelined since retiring with a hip problem against Marin Cilic in his Melbourne quarter-final.
Nadal, who hasn’t hit a ball in anger since pulling out of the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, saw Federer take over top spot on February 18.
The 31-year-old has not played in the competition since helping five-time winners Spain return to the top tier of world tennis with victory in India in 2016.
Federer arrived at Indian Wells knowing anything less than a semi-final finish would cede his world ranking back to Rafael Nadal, who is not playing this week
World No.2 Nadal, a three-time winner at Indian Wells and five-time finalist at Miami, suffered his latest setback during a training session on Tuesday that forced him to pull out of this week’s Mexican Open in Acapulco
The 16-time grand slam champion was due to face fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez in the opening round on Wednesday in Acapulco.
The 36-year-old became the most decorated person in the awards’ history as he beat fellow nominees Nadal, Cristiano Ronaldo and British trio Chris Froome, Mo Farah and Lewis Hamilton to claim the sportsman of the year prize.
More significant, he earned the needed points to topple Rafael Nadal as the tennis world number one, becoming the oldest man, at 36, to reach tennis zenith
The 36-year-old needs to reach the semi-finals to overtake Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings and reclaim the world number one ranking for the first time since November 2012
Nadal came into the 2008 event on the back of his fourth French Open title and beat Serbia’s Novak Djokovic in the final at West London.
The sixth seed had won his quarter-final when Rafa Nadal retired hurt in the fifth set, and was again ruthless against a hobbled opponent.
The top seed was in visible pain on court and Cilic of Croatia will now face British number two Kyle Edmund in the semi-finals following his 3-6 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 2-0 victory
In an often breathtaking clash laden with sumptuous shot-making, the Spaniard was rocked by the hard-hitting Schwartzman who broke him three times to claim the second set at Rod Laver Arena.