Nadal Looking to Reverse Fortunes in Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal’s start to the season didn’t go as expected and the Spaniard is the first to acknowledge it.
Upset losses to Fernando Verdasco in Melbourne, Dominic Thiem in Buenos Aires, and Pablo Cuevas in Rio de Janeiro – after dropping the final in Doha against Novak Djokovic – forced him to arrive to the BNP Paribas Open without a title in 2016. As such, the Manacor native is searching for a way to get back on the right path before he heads into the clay season.
“I am practicing hard and I’m happy to be here with time,” he said. “I’m doing the right things.”
Nadal knows that the pressure is on, but that pressure also comes with a good opportunity to boost his ATP World Tour ranking points. The three-time champion lost to Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals a year ago, and a deep run into the championship weekend, could help buoy his confidence.
“I lost three matches at the beginning of the season that I could have won and probably should have won,” he said. “I have to keep working hard. I feel ready to keep going mentally and physically too. I’m excited to be here at Indian Wells, a tournament that I really love so much and I’m enjoying these days before the competition starts.”
Despite his less than spectacular record, by his standards, Nadal claims he feels a lot more at ease than he did 12 months ago.
“I’m much better than last year in terms of personal feelings,” he said. “Last year I was so nervous when I was competing and this year is a different story. I lost, yes, a few matches that I think I could win. But I was prepared, and I don’t have those very negative feelings in terms of being without control of my breathing, or being too nervous.”
The fourth-seeded Nadal will play the winner of the first-round clash between Victor Estrella Burgos and Gilles Muller.

Source: BNP Paribas Open