FEDERER, NADAL STAY BUSY PRIOR TO SUNDAY START IN INDIAN WELLS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: on 14th March 2015
BNP Paribas Open tennis
FEDERER, NADAL STAY BUSY PRIOR TO SUNDAY START IN INDIAN WELLS BY RICKY DIMON

epa04658472 Roger Federer of Switzerland during media availability at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 11 March 2015. EPA/PAUL BUCK  |

With byes to the second round an the bottom half of the draw playing second, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal do not kick off their BNP Paribas Open campaigns until Sunday. That doesn’t mean they have not been hard to find throughout the first week in Indian Wells.

 

A busy practice schedule has seen Federer train with Alexander Zverev (on Thursday) and Philipp Kohlschreiber (on Friday). The Swiss’ session with Kohlschreiber on practice court 2 was especially packed, with fans flocking into adjacent courts just to catch a glimpse from afar.

 

“[Tuesday’s] match in New York actually gave me some input of what I needed to work on,” Federer said of his World Tennis Day exhibition against Grigor Dimitrov. “I was always going to come here and make sure the first few days I get used to the courts. I had a bit of a slow week last week after Dubai, so I think the next few days are going to be important for me.

 

” I feel like I am playing very well.”

 

Federer will get to to test that theory with some match practice on Saturday, when he teams up with countryman Michael Lammer to face Nenad Zimonjic and Marcin Matkowski in the doubles first round on Saturday afternoon. Federer and Stan Wawrinka finished runner-up at this event in 2011 and made it to the semifinals last year.

 

Rafael Nadal from Spain (L) during media availability at the 2015 BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 11 March 2015. EPA/PAUL BUCK

Nadal’s tournament got underway on Friday with his first-round doubles contest. The all-Spanish duo of Nadal and Pablo Carreno Busta crushed Pablo Cuevas and David Marrero 6-2, 6-1.

 

“We have a great relationship,” Nadal during the on-court interview as Carreno Busta stood by his side. “We were supposed to play together last year but I had some (injury) problems.”

 

Nadal, who has also been active on the practice courts with Tommy Robredo and Joao Sousa, is now 14-1 in his last 15 Indian Wells doubles matches. He won titles in 2010 and 2012 with Marc Lopez and that duo also reached the semis in 2011.

 

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: , , , , ,








10sBalls Top Stories

In Case You Missed It

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA thumbnail

EUGENIE BOUCHARD NAMED 2018 TENNIS CANADA FEMALE PLAYER OF THE YEAR / EUGENIE BOUCHARD NOMMÉE JOUEUSE DE L’ANNÉE 2018 DE TENNIS CANADA

Tennis Canada announced on Wednesday that Eugenie Bouchard is the winner of the 2018 Excellence Awards in the Female Player of the Year and Singles Player of the Year categories.
TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • CALIFORNIA CHAMPIONSHIPS • TOMMY HAAS, TAYLOR FRITZ, STEVE JOHNSON, MARDY FISH AND MORE

Time to get tickets to watch! Surly you have heard about The Largest Open Tennis Event in America!
TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER thumbnail

TENNIS NEWS • RAFA NADAL CONFIRMS RETURN TO PRACTICE, EYES ABU DHABI EXHIBITION AND AUSTRALIAN SUMMER

According to Uncle Toni, Rafael Nadal was supposed to be back at practice on either Dec. 4 or 5. Well, better late than never!
Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife thumbnail

Conchita Martínez prepara la temporada 2019 de Karolina Pliskova en Tenerife

Española y checa ya trabajaron juntas durante el pasado Open de Estados Unidos
ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS thumbnail

ALEJANDRO’S FAVORITE PHOTOS FOR 10SBALLS FROM SOME OF THIS YEAR’S TOURNAMENTS

Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia hits a forehand to Kaia Kanepi of Estonia during her second round match at the Nature Valley International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, Great Britain, on Tuesday, June 26, 2018.