While he may be widely recognized as the King of Clay, Rafael Nadal never failed to bring his intensity to Tennis Paradise in his fifteen appearances playing at Indian Wells over the years.

“Everyone knows how much I love this place and how much I love playing here,” Nadal said about the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. He made it clear year after year how much he enjoyed coming to the desert to compete and bring his best for the fans in Tennis Paradise. That energy and effort was ultimately reflected in his results as he produced a plethora of marquee moments in the Coachella Valley en route to three titles.

In honor of Nadal announcing his plans to retire at the 2024 Davis Cup Finals in November,  let’s take a look back at Nadal’s desert dominance over the years, reliving his 2007, 2009, and 2013 title runs that cemented him as one of the great players in the history of the tournament.

2007: Nadal Captures A Maiden Title In The Desert

After a semifinal run the year prior, Nadal entered Indian Wells  in 2007 with a coolness, comfort and confidence that people were getting used to seeing from the 20-year-old on Tour. His 2007 run in the desert included consecutive victories over fellow seeded Spanish countrymen, beating Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 6-4, and dominating former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-1, 6-1. He faced a quarterfinal test against the 30th seed, Juan Ignacio Chela, but ultimately outlasted the Argentinian 7-5, 7-5. 

In the semifinal, he faced American and home crowd favorite Andy Roddick. Despite the heavy-hitting American’s 16 aces, Nadal responded with sharpness and aggression, dealing Roddick his first break points of the entire tournament. Nadal wiped out Roddick in only 1 hour and 14 minutes, heading to the final off the back of a 6-4, 6-3 victory.

The championship stage was set for Nadal to square off with a 19-year-old Novak Djokovic, who was just beginning to make noise in a major tournament for the first time. This was the first tournament final meeting in what would become one of tennis’ greatest all-time rivalries, and although there would be many more thrilling duels down the road, this edition ended in a lopsided 6-2, 7-5 win for Nadal. This capped off a flawless two weeks in Tennis Paradise for Nadal, marching to the championship without dropping a set. Nadal claimed his first Indian Wells trophy, kicking off the 2007 season with an early triumph and ending a nine month drought without a tournament championship.

2009: Resilient Nadal Saves Five Match Points En Route To Indian Wells Crown No. 2 

Coming off a thrilling Grand Slam final victory over Roger Federer at the 2009 Australian Open and maiden title in Melbourne, Rafael Nadal entered Indian Wells in 2009 as the player to beat on Tour.

But despite his impressive run of form heading into the tournament, Nadal found himself on the brink of elimination early in the tournament.  The Spaniard found himself down 3-6, 3-5, serving 30-40 in the fourth round to David Nalbandian. From down match point, Nadal would go on to produce one of his most iconic Indian Wells moments.

Nadal remained composed, hitting a ferocious forehand that brought the game to deuce. That would be the first of five match points Nadal would save, including four in that game alone. He battled back and won the second set on a tiebreaker, and capitalized on his momentum with a  roaring crowd behind him to win the third set without dropping a game. 

Despite his prolonged battle with Nalbandian into the thick of the desert night, Nadal was firing from the start against his next opponent, Juan Martin Del Potro. He broke Del Potro’s serve early in both sets on his way to a 6-2, 6-4 victory, maintaining his track of never dropping a set to the Argentinian. He faced Andy Roddick in the semifinal, who posed a bigger threat down the stretch but still failed to win a set over the Spaniard, who won 6-4, 7-6(4) to advance to the final. 

Nadal met Andy Murray in the final on a day where swirling desert winds played a large factor. Despite the turbulence, Nadal cruised to a 6-1, 6-2 victory, handing the 21-year-old Scotsman one of his toughest defeats of his early career. Nadal had prevailed in Tennis Paradise once again, this time dropping just one set along the way.

2013: A Comeback For The Ages

Nadal’s 2013 road to victory might have been the bumpiest and most improbable of all three

He was coming off of a knee injury that had kept him sidelined for over 7 months, and for the first time since 2008, he found himself ranked outside of the Top 4. 

Despite a few early round hiccups, Nadal progressed to the quarterfinals, setting up a blockbuster encounter with rival Roger Federer. Nadal made quick work of his rival in their second-ever Indian Wells meeting, (Federer had gotten the better of Nadal in the previous year’s semifinal) securing  a 6-4, 6-2 victory in just 1 hour and 24 minutes. Nadal then outlasted Tomas Berdych in two tight semifinal sets, advancing to the final with a chance to reign as king in the desert once more.

His foe this time was Juan Martin del Potro, who was just off the back of an upset over No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. It was clear that the Argentinian was riding the momentum into the final, going up a set and a break with a clear playing advantage over the scrambling Nadal. However, Nadal remained collected and returned to the strategy that has helped him handle the Argentinian over the years, tiring del Potro with his backhand and tiring him out with well-timed open court shots.

Nadal clawed all the way back to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory, officially announcing to the tennis world that he was the same force to be reckoned with despite a 222 day hiatus from injury.