‘We Need to Accept and Move Forward’ – Rafael Nadal Urges Naomi Osaka to Come Back Stronger From the Indian Wells Controversy

Naomi Osaka has been the talking point in Indian Wells currently. The Japanese tennis star bowed out of the tournament, after losing to Veronika Kudermetova in the second round 0-6, 4-6. Subsequently, she burst into tears after the match. Apparently, Naomi Osaka wasn’t happy with the crowd behavior during the match.

Further, Rafael Nadal was up against Daniel Evans in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The Spaniard breezed through his clash against the Brit, winning his third-round encounter in straight sets 7-5, 6-3. After the match, Nadal was asked for his views on Naomi Osaka’s incident during his press conference.

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Rafael Nadal wants Naomi Osaka to move forward

During the post-match press conference, Nadal was questioned about his thoughts on  Naomi Osaka’s reaction to the unruly behavior of the crowd during her match. He said, “These kind of questions are tough to answer because in some way, I mean, the easy answer for me is, I feel terrible about what happened. That never should happen but the real thing and in the real world that happens you know and I feel very sorry for her but, we’re having, in my opinion, a great life.”

Further, he added, “We are very lucky people that we are able to to enjoy amazing experiences because of our life because we are tennis players. We make money and even if it’s terrible to hear from that, we need to be prepared for that. We need to resist these kinds of issues that can happen when you are exposed to the people and at the same time as we love, will like a lot when the people are supporting when something like this happens, we need to accept and move forward.”

Nadal overcomes the challenge of Daniel Evans

The Spaniard had to dig deep in his second-round win over Sebastian Korda. However, he secured a comprehensive victory over the Brit, Daniel Evans, in straight sets. Nadal didn’t have the greatest of starts as he lost serve in the third game of the opening set. However, the 21-time Grand Slam champion came back strongly to level the first set at 4-4. Subsequently, he broke his opponent’s serve in the 12th game to take the first set 7-5.

Nadal carried that momentum into the second set. He broke Evans’ serve in the second game of the second set. It proved to be a deciding factor, as Nadal took the second set 6-3. With his win over Evans in the third round in Indian Wells, Nadal becomes the first man to complete 400 wins at the Masters 1000 level tournaments. He is now 17-0 so far in 2022 and is chasing his 37th Masters 1000 title of his career in the Californian Desert this year.

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Nadal will face Reilly Opelka in the pre-quarterfinals. Can Nadal win the Indian Wells title this year? Let us know your views in the comments below.