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Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak to 18 matches, beating big-serving American Reilly Opelka in two tight sets in Indian Wells on Wednesday. The Spaniard needed two hours and 11 minutes to prevail 7-6(3), 7-6(5) to reach the quarterfinals.
The win extended Nadal's best start to an ATP season. The 36-year-old's previous best came in 2014, when he made an 11-0 start to the year.
Nadal has already moved way ahead of that figure with his ongoing 18-0* streak. The figure, however, still pales in comparison to Novak Djokovic's personal record of 41-0.
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With multiple wins over Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray among others, Djokovic's start to the 2011 ATP season is part of the tennis history books.
The Serb started the 2011 season with a title run at the Australian Open, beating fellow 'Big 4' members Federer and Murray in the semifinals and final respectively. Djokvoic again beat Federer in the final of his next tournament, the Dubai Tennis Championships, to stack up 12 straight wins to start the year.
Djokovic then beat Nadal in the summit clash of both the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open to win the Sunshine Double, extending his win streak to 24.
Success on the claycourts of Belgrade, Madrid, and Rome took Djokovic's tally to 37 ahead of Roland Garros. He notched up another four wins before losing to Roger Federer in the semifinals, which ended his 41-match winning streak.
Nadal, meanwhile, appears to be heading in the right direction, with titles at the Melbourne Summer Set, Australian Open and Acapulco.
The Spaniard has withdrawn from the Miami Open, so a title run this week could put him in a strong position ahead of the European clay swing. That said, Nadal still has a fair bit of work ahead of him if he is to successfully chase down Djokovic's 41-0 start.
Rafael Nadal's start fourth best behind Novak Djokovic's 2011 and 2020 seasons and John McEnroe's 1984 campaign
Rafael Nadal's 18-0 start means he has surpassed Federer and Pete Sampras' 17-0 starts in 2019 and 1997 respectively.
Djokovic and John McEnroe are the only players to have had better starts than Nadal. In addition to the 41-0 start in 2011, the Serb also made a 26-0 start to the COVID-19 interrrupted 2020 season.
The Serb won 18 straight matches by the end of February, which included an Australian Open title. He continued his winning run upon the tour's resumption in August, lifting the title in Cincinnati before being deafulted in his fourth-round match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open.
Rafael Nadal finds himself within touching distance of Djokovic's 2020 start. The exit of big names like World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev has made the Spaniard the favorite for the title in Indian Wells.
If he can lift the trophy in the California desert, Nadal will enter the Monte-Carlo Masters, the next tournament on his 2022 schedule with 21 wins. A run to the finals in Monte-Carlo -- where he has won 11 titles -- will see the Spaniard match Djokovic's 26-0 start.
John McEnroe, meanwhile, compiled an incredible 42-0 record at the start of the 1984 season.
Also Check Out: Indian Wells Masters 2022 Results
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