Francesca Schiavone of Italy hits a return against Flavia Pennetta of Italy during the BNP Paribas Open tennis in Indian Wells, California, USA, yesterday.
INDIAN WELLS, California: Rafael Nadal faces the toughest test yet in his injury return as the ATP Masters on the hard courts of Indian Wells brings the “big four” of men’s tennis together again.
Not since last year’s Wimbledon have world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Nadal all been entered in the same tournament.
Nadal, who won the Indian Wells title in 2007 and 2009, will be under the fiercest scrutiny as the fifth-seeded Spaniard continues his return from a seven-month injury absence that kept him out of last year’s US Open and prevented him from defending his Olympic gold.
His February appearance at Vina del Mar, Chile, marked his first tournament since a shock second-round exit from Wimbledon, after which he was idled by his left knee injury.
Nadal, whose 2012 French Open victory was his 11th Grand Slam title, reached the final at Vina del Mar and went on to claim clay court titles at Sao Paulo and Acapulco.
But even he admits he doesn’t know how his knee will respond to the rigors of a hard court Masters event, where the field features 49 of the top 50 players in the world.
The last time Nadal played a hard court event was at the 2012 Masters in Miami, where he pulled out of his scheduled semi-final against Murray with left knee trouble.
“All I can do is all the right things to be ready,” Nadal said after a light-hearted exhibition in New York on Monday.
“I really hope that the knee will go well. I don’t know how well, but the knee will give me the chance to compete. I know the knee isn’t 100 percent better yet.”
Nadal, seeded fifth, could meet defending champion and second seed Federer in the quarter-finals.
To get that far Federer could have to get through a re-match of last year’s final against American John Isner in the fourth round.
World No. 1 Djokovic and No. 3 Murray are on a semi-final collision course. Djokovic, riding a 13-match unbeaten streak in 2013, vanquished Murray in the Australian Open final in January and has since claimed the title in Dubai.
The Serb is seeking a third Indian Wells crown after victories in 2008 and 2011.
Murray hasn’t played since falling to Djokovic in a grinding four-set final at Melbourne. However, the Scot could overtake Federer at No. 2 in the world rankings if he reaches the final. Fourth seed David Ferrer, who has edged ahead of fellow Spaniard Nadal in the world rankings, lies in the bottom half of the draw with Federer and Nadal. AFP
Kuznetsova advances
INDIAN WELLS, California: Svetlana Kuznetsova continued her encouraging resurgence from an injury-hampered 2012 campaign with a 6-3, 6-1 demolition of Czech Andrea Hlavackova in the BNP Paribas Open first round yesterday.
The Russian, whose world ranking has plummeted to 46th from a career-high second, swept past Hlavackova after converting all five of her break point chances at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
“I’m happy to be back on the court, this is the main thing,” Kuznetsova, 27, told reporters after booking a place in the second round against 18th-seeded Serb Jelena Jankovic.
In other first-round matches yesterday, Spaniard Silvia Soler Espinosa battled past American Vania King 6-7, 6-2, 6-1 while Kazakhstan’s Ksenia Pervak brushed aside Zheng Jie of China 6-1 6-2.
Qualifier Mallory Burdette was elated after beating wildcard and fellow American Jill Craybas 6-3 6-1.
Meanwhile, former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone defeated fellow Italian Flavia Pennetta 7-5, 6-1 to book a clash with second-seeded Maria Sharapova.
Schiavone, the 2010 Roland Garros winner, improved to 5-2 against Pennetta, who has only recently returned from wrist surgery. AGENCIES
