Rafael Nadal dominated the field to win the BNP Paribas Open title in 2013 after a seven month absence, but defending the title in Indian Wells looks like a tougher task.
The top-seeded Spaniard, who unveiled a new mural of himself at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Tuesday, was drawn into the same quarter-final section as World No. 6 Andy Murray.
Nadal's potential semi-final opponents could long-time rival Roger Federer or No. 3 ranked Stanislas Wawrinka, who defeated Nadal in the Australian Open final.
"I'm still very disappointed," Nadal said during media day Thursday. "It's part of tennis, but it was one of the toughest moments in my career. Getting to the final of a Grand Slam and spending one hour and half there. Mentally, how was that? It was tough being there for 90 minutes knowing that you will not win. But not winning was not the worst thing. The worst thing was knowing I could not compete."
Meanwhile, World No. 8 Federer comes to Indian Wells playing some of his best tennis in two years, recently winning his record sixth title in Dubai. Federer is now 4-1 versus Top 10 opponents this season, after going 4-10 against the Top 10 last year.
"So it's just nice being able to win, beat as many top 10 guys now in two months than what I did all of last year," the 17-time Grand Slam Champ said. "I enjoyed Dubai and beating those two guys and getting the trophy, it was a perfect week."
All the top men's players, including Nadal, Federer and Novak Djokovic, will take to the court during second round action at Indian Wells this Saturday and Sunday.
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