Rafael Nadal candidly discussed the challenge of competing against his close friend Marc Lopez in doubles at the Indian Wells Masters..
In the 2015 edition of the ATP Masters 1000 event, Rafael Nadal, seeded third, entered the singles competition and received a first-round bye. Interestingly, despite their previous Indian Wells doubles triumphs in 2010 and 2012, Nadal chose not to partner with close friend Marc Lopez. Instead, he entered the men’s doubles draw with compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta.
Following his victory over Igor Sijsling in the second round of men’s singles, Rafael Nadal humorously explained his decision not to partner with Marc Lopez in the doubles. He jokingly revealed that Lopez didn’t want to play with him anymore, offering a light-hearted perspective on their doubles pairing.
“Yeah, he doesn’t want to play with me anymore, so … (Laughter),” he said in his post-match press conference. “I need to play with ‑‑
I need to play against him now.”.
Discussing the challenge of facing his closest friend in the second round of doubles, Rafael Nadal acknowledged the inherent discomfort but emphasized their shared professionalism in approaching the competition..
“Well, I want all the best for Marc. He’s one of my closest friends, probably my closest friend on tour. It’s not a comfortable situation the match of tomorrow, but, at the end, we are professionals. We are going to try our best, both of us,”
he said.
Adding to the intrigue, Rafael Nadal disclosed that he and Marc Lopez were sharing a room during the tournament, intensifying the compelling nature of their first-ever on-court encounter in the second round of doubles..
“We are in the same room here, so we sleep in different beds but together. (Laughter.)
“And that’s it. That’s the sport. For the first time in our career we gonna play against each other, and hope ‑‑ we are going to try our best and hope it will be a good match,”
he added.
Rafael Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta secured victory against Marc Lopez and Marcel Granollers with a 6-4, 6-4 win in the second round of the Indian Wells Masters. However, they faced defeat in the third round, falling to the eventual runners-up Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini.
Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez clinched gold at 2016 Rio Olympics.
Nadal (left) and Lopez
Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez teamed up to represent Spain at the 2016 Rio Olympics, entering the men’s doubles event as the sixth seeds. They initiated their campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jean-Julien Roger and Robin Haas from the Netherlands..
Continuing their campaign at the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Spanish duo of Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez progressed to the quarterfinals by defeating Argentina’s Maximo Gonzalez and Juan Martin del Potro with a 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 victory. They then secured a commanding 6-3, 6-1 win over Alexander Peya and Oliver Marach from Austria, earning their place in the semifinals..
Rafael Nadal and Marc Lopez secured their spot in the final by defeating Canada’s Vasek Pospisil and Daniel Nestor with a 7-6(1), 7-6(4) victory. In a hard-fought final, the Spanish pair triumphed over Romania’s Horia Tecau and Florin Mergea with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 win, earning Spain’s first gold medal in men’s doubles at the Olympics.