NADAL DOUBLING THE FUN ON WEDNESDAY, FEDERER ALSO IN ACTION @ THE BNP PARIBAS OPEN BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 18th March 2015

NADAL DOUBLING THE FUN ON WEDNESDAY, FEDERER ALSO IN ACTION @ THE BNP PARIBAS OPEN BY RICKY DIMON

epaselect epa04666882 Rafael Nadal of Spain serves during his third round match against Donald Young of the US at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 17 March 2015. EPA/MIKE NELSON |

Another long, hot day in the desert awaits Rafael Nadal.

As usual, sun with temperatures in the high-80s is expected. And this is Rafael Nadal’s expected schedule at the BNP Paribas Open: practice at 11:00 a.m., singles vs. Gilles Simon in the afternoon, and doubles with Pablo Carreno Busta against Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli in the evening.

“I like playing here,” Nadal said after beating Donald Young 6-4, 6-2 during third-round action on Tuesday. “I love the players. I love the organization. I love the fans here. I feel very comfortable, no?”

Yes, he does. At least he does this year. Nadal has not dropped a set through four matches–singles and doubles combined. He kicked things off in doubles by destroying Pablo Cuevas and David Marrero, then an all-Spanish clash saw him and Carreno Busta take care of Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 6-4, 6-4. Things may get tougher for the world No. 3 on Wednesday.

Nadal and Simon will be squaring off for the eighth time in their careers when they clash in the Indian Wells fourth round. The head-to-head series stands at 6-1 in Nadal’s favor, including 4-1 on hard courts, but Simon cannot be overlooked. Their four meetings since 2008 have come with Nadal enjoying a distinct advantage–in terms of either surface or form. Two were contested on clay and the others came at the 2009 Australian Open (Nadal won it) and the 2010 U.S. Open (Nadal won it, as well).

The third-ranked Spaniard has been solid so far this fortnight, but he is still not at his best in the wake of an injury-plagued second half of 2014. He has losses this season to Michael Berrer (Doha), Tomas Berdych (Australian Open), and Fognini (Rio de Janeiro). Simon has heated up since physical problems slowed him during the Australian summer. Excluding a dead Davis Cup rubber, the 14th-ranked Frenchman is 11-1 in his last 12 matches with a title in Marseille and wins at this event over Malek Jaziri and Michael Berrer.

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action during his third round match against Andreas Seppi of Italy at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 17 March 2015. EPA/PAUL BUCK EPA/PAUL BUCK

As for Federer, he is out of the doubles event but will be back in action in singles on Wednesday afternoon. The 33-year-old Swiss avenged an Australian Open loss to Andreas Seppi by prevailing 6-3, 6-4 in a third-round showdown on Tuesday. He will meet Jack Sock for the first time with a place in the quarterfinals at stake.

“It’s one of those matches you’re happy you’re through, and I was happy it was over,” Federer commented after seeing off Seppi. “[Sock] is clearly tough to beat, especially here in the States on the hard courts. I know him off the court because we always chat in the locker room and we crack jokes and stuff.”

“He’s done some pretty incredible things,” Sock said of Federer. “Won every tournament he possibly can, pretty much. I think he’s kind of a walking legend.”

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

Topics: BNP Paribas Open, Fabio Fognini, Federer, Gilles Simon, Indian Wells, Pablo Carreno-Busta, Rafa Nadal, Simone Bolelli, Tennis News

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10sBalls_com says:

March 18, 2015 at 10:30 am

-@RafaelNadal DOUBLING THE FUN ON WEDNESDAY, @rogerfederer ALSO IN ACTION @ THE @BNPPARIBASOPEN BY @Dimonator http://t.co/O1bi8LJDlD #tennis
Dimonator says:

March 18, 2015 at 12:03 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@RafaelNadal DOUBLING THE FUN ON WEDNESDAY, @rogerfederer ALSO IN ACTION @ THE @BNPPARIBASOPEN BY @Dimonator http://t.co…