RAFAEL NADAL, ROGER FEDERER KICK OFF THE FINAL WEEKEND IN INDIAN WELLS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 19th March 2015

RAFAEL NADAL, ROGER FEDERER KICK OFF THE FINAL WEEKEND IN INDIAN WELLS BY RICKY DIMON

epa04668677 Roger Federer of Switzerland in action during his fourth round match against Jack Sock of the US at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 18 March 2015. EPA/PAUL BUCK |

Thursday at the BNP Paribas Open lacked a little bit of luster. But think of it as a calm before the storm.

Andy Murray destroyed Feliciano Lopez (what’s new?), and despite the lopsidedness it was still the most competitive singles match of the afternoon. That’s because Lesia Tsurenko retired against Jelena Jankovic and Bernard Tomic could not even take the court for his scheduled showdown with Novak Djokovic due to injury.

Friday should more than make up for the relative disappointments on Thursday. On the men’s side, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are one round away from a potential renewal of their rivalry in the semifinals. The women will cap things off in the night session when Serena Williams, who is back in Indian Wells for the first time since 2001, continues her title quest against Simona Halep.

Let’s take a look at the two men’s matchups:

(6) Milos Raonic vs. (3) Rafael Nadal

Rafael Nadal of Spain in action during his fourth round match against Gilles Simon of France at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 18 March 2015. EPA/DANIEL MURPHY

Aside from a 2014 Paris Masters upset of Federer, Raonic has been mostly hopeless against the very best players in the world. The Canadian is a combined 1-18 lifetime against Nadal, Federer, and Djokovic, including 0-5 with Nadal on the other side of the net. In total sets the Spaniard is 10-1 in the head-to-head series and 8-1 on hard courts. They finally had a competitive meeting last spring in Miami, where Nadal survived 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

Fast forward almost exactly one year and Raonic has really established himself as a staple of the top eight. The 24-year-old reached the Wimbledon semifinals, the Paris title match, and he qualified for the World Tour Finals. So far in Indian Wells, Raonic has dominated Simone Bolelli, Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Tommy Robredo. Despite constant complaints about the type of balls being used, Nadal has been solid this fortnight. The world No. 3 has not come close to dropping a set in wins over Igor Sijsling, Donald Young, and Gilles Simon. A hard court gives Raonic a slight chance, but the conditions are likely not fast enough for the underdog to completely turn the tide against one of his nemeses

(9) Tomas Berdych vs. (2) Roger Federer

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action during his fourth round match against Jack Sock of the US at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 18 March 2015. EPA/DANIEL MURPHY

By this matchup’s standards, Federer and Berdych have been in a drought in terms of going head-to-head against one another. They have not squared off in more than year, since the 2014 Dubai final–one of the longest such stretches of their careers. Federer has won 12 of their 18 meetings, including that Dubai title match via a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 decision. Berdych, though, has taken two of their last three encounters dating back to the 2012 U.S. Open. Federer is 7-5 lifetime against the Czech on either hard courts or carpet.

There is a lot to like about the 33-year-old Swiss’ current form and his past history in Indian Wells. He is 14-1 this season and 50-10 overall in the desert, with four titles. So far this fortnight Federer has easily dismissed Diego Schwartzman, Andreas Seppi, and Jack Sock. Berdych has advance with wins over Sergiy Stakhovsky, Steve Johnson, and Lukas Rosol. The world No. 9 has been solid but–aside from an Australian Open upset of Nadal–unspectacular in 2015 and his Indian Wells campaign has been no different. Berdych’s record at this event was a mere 15-10 prior to this year, and his chances of reaching just a second semifinal at Larry Ellison’s establishment are not encouraging.

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

Topics: BNP Paribas Open, Federer, Indian Wells, milos raonic, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Tennis, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

March 19, 2015 at 6:55 pm

-@RafaelNadal, @rogerfederer KICK OFF THE FINAL WEEKEND IN #IndianWells BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/X6ITfTi4bw #tennis #Federer #BNPPO15
Dimonator says:

March 19, 2015 at 6:59 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@RafaelNadal, @rogerfederer KICK OFF THE FINAL WEEKEND IN #IndianWells BY @Dimonator- http://t.co/X6ITfTi4bw #tennis #Fe…