Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal are on course for
another showdown, after winning their opening matches at the BNP Paribas Open
in the California desert on Sunday.
Less than two months
after Federer claimed an 18th major title in a classic Australian Open final,
the two great rivals could meet again, this time in the fourth round at Indian
Wells.
Both won in style on
Sunday, with Spanish fifth seed Nadal pouncing on Guido Pella’s serve to break
the Argentine five times en route to a 6-3 6-2 victory, in sizzling afternoon
heat on the stadium hard court.
Federer enjoyed the
relative cool of an evening match.
But was back in the
locker room before working up a major sweat, easing to a 6-2 6-1 win over
Frenchman Stephane Robert, in front of an appreciative capacity crowd of around
16,000 spectators.
“The beginning was
difficult, just because I’ve never played him before so I’m not sure about his
patterns,” ninth seed Federer said in a courtside interview.
“I was very happy I was
able to loosen up and play good tennis. I started to serve really well, move
around the court great.”
While it was Federer’s
first match against Robert, he is far more familiar with Nadal. They have met
35 times, with Nadal holding a 23-12 edge.
Needing to win their
respective third-round matches for a 36th meeting to happen, Nadal next faces
26th-seeded compatriot Fernando Verdasco, while Federer plays American 24th
seed Steve Johnson.
“For sure I saw the
draw,” a relaxed Nadal said, adding that he was not really focused on Federer.
“I go day-by-day.
That’s my way, to focus on my next match. I played I think a solid match
(today).”
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