The 'bull' surrenders to the 'express train'.
In their second encounter of 2017, Rafael Nadal had a chance to avenge his loss to Roger Federer in the Australian Open final. However, once again, the "Bull" had to surrender to the "Express Train".
Tennis fans once again witnessed a "classic" match between two legends of the tennis world: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Following their encounter at Melbourne Park more than a month ago, after five emotional sets, Federer defeated Nadal and completed his 18th Grand Slam title.
This time, at Indian Wells, the two players once again had the opportunity to face each other as they were in the same bracket. In the third round, Nadal easily defeated his compatriot Fernando Verdasco in two sets with a score of 6-3, 7-5. Federer, on the other hand, struggled to overcome Steve Johnson after two tie-breaks.
Both players entered the rematch in top spirits. In the first set, Federer broke Nadal's serve in the first and fifth games, securing a quick 6-2 victory. The same scenario unfolded in the second set, with Federer giving Nadal no chance to break. With his outstanding performance and a perfectly executed one-handed backhand, the "Swiss Express" once again left Nadal completely defeated with a 6-3 score.
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| Nadal has yet to "avenge" his loss to Federer at the Australian Open. |
With the overall victory, Federer secured his place in the quarterfinals. There, the Swiss player's opponent will be Nick Kyrgios, the young Australian who just had a convincing victory over Novak Djokovic in an earlier match with a score of 6-4, 7-6(7-3). Two weeks ago, the 22-year-old also defeated Nole in the quarterfinals of the Acalpuco tournament.
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| Kyrgios once again defeated Djokovic. |
Also in this round, Asian number one Kei Nishikori won after 1 hour and 18 minutes of play against world number 60 Donald Young, with a score of 6-2, 6-4. In the quarterfinals, Nishikori will face Jack Sock, the American player who defeated Malek Jaziri.
Another player from Switzerland, Stan Wawrinka, staged a spectacular comeback against Yoshihito Nishikola, winning in three sets 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(7-4). Wawrinka's next hurdle will be the winner of the match between Gael Monfils and Dominic Thiem.
In the women's singles, world number 8 Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in two sets with a score of 6-3, 6-2. In the other match, defending Roland Garros champion Garbine Muguruza lost to second seed Karolina Pliskova after two tie-breaks.
According to TT&VH
