Federer Has His Revenge, Nadal Cruises; Djokovic v Isner Wednesday At Indan Wells
Roger Federer had his revenge Tuesday at Indian Wells. The Swiss was stunned by Andrea Seppi in the third round at the Australian Open, his only loss of the season. But this time Federer had no troubles with the Italian in a 6-3, 6-4 win.
“It absolutely was an opportunity right away to play him again and sort of erase it to some extent from the memory as the season moves forward,” said Federer.
Federer, who is seeking a fifth Indian Wells titles, now faces American upstart Jack Sock later today. The 22-year-old Sock is making the most of his 2015 debut, reaching the fourth round after a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut.
“I know him off the court because we always chat in the locker room and we crack jokes and stuff,” said Federer. “Other than that, I know he’s got a nice serve; good forehand…
“Right off the bat he has a great start again. I’m very happy for him, anybody for that matter, who has been injured and is able to come back quickly. It’s nice to see. Always a great story. He’s clearly tough to beat, especially here in the States on the hard courts.”
Rafael Nadal had no trouble either, taking down fellow-lefty Donald Young 6-4, 6-2. Nadal now has a tricky test today against Gilles Simon.
“I like playing here – I love the players, I love the organization, I love the fans here and I feel very comfortable. I’m happy to be in the fourth round… Tomorrow I have a tough match against Simon. He’s tough, a good player.”
Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol also were winners. The lone upset of the day was Grigor Dimitrov falling to 32-year-old Tommy Robredo.
Federer and Nadal are back on the court today, joining Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray on a full slate of fourth round matches. Djokovic faces the big American No. 1 John Isner for the third time at Indian Wells.
“I can’t ask for better conditions to go up against someone like that,” Isner said. “These conditions suit me very well. That being said, every condition suit him well. He does everything the best. That’s why he’s No. 1 in the world. There is no surface he’s a slouch on.
“But I think a court like this and maybe hopefully the crowd on my side can certainly help me a lot. I seem to run into him in Masters Series events, and I would like to play him again, you know. I anticipate he’s going to win. You never know we’ll see.”
INDIAN WELLS WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE
STADIUM 1 start 11:00 am
ATP – [12] F. Lopez (ESP) vs [5] K. Nishikori (JPN)
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA – [3] S. Halep (ROU) vs [12] C. Suárez Navarro (ESP)
ATP – [13] G. Simon (FRA) vs [3] R. Nadal (ESP)
ATP – J. Sock (USA) vs [2] R. Federer (SUI)
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA – [1] [WC] S. Williams (USA) vs [27] T. Bacsinszky (SUI)
Not Before 8:30 pm
ATP – [1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [18] J. Isner (USA)
STADIUM 2 start 11:00 am
ATP – [4] A. Murray (GBR) vs A. Mannarino (FRA)
ATP – [27] L. Rosol (CZE) vs [9] T. Berdych (CZE)
ATP – [6] M. Raonic (CAN) vs [17] T. Robredo (ESP)
ATP – [WC] T. Kokkinakis (AUS) vs [32] B. Tomic (AUS)
ATP – P. Carreno Busta (ESP) / R. Nadal (ESP) vs S. Bolelli (ITA) / F. Fognini (ITA)
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