Indian Wells roundup: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal to renew rivalry in last 16 clash

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will renew their rivalry with a last 16 clash at Indian Wells, their second such encounter in as many months.

Federer beat 24th seed Steve Johnson 7-6(3), 7-6(4). He did well to finish off the 94-minute match, winning 87% points off his first serve with no service breaks. However, the four-time former champion did squander four break point chances on Johnson’s serve which, could prove costly in his clash against Nadal.

Meanwhile, Nadal enjoyed a relatively comfortable 6-3, 7-5 third round win over compatriot Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco struggled to get his serves in and had seven double faults in the course of the 89-minute match and won only 23% points off his second serves. Nadal converted three of the five break points on Verdasco’s serve, but failed to convert the sole break point on his serve that came about in the second set.

At the top of the second-half, fourth seed Kei Nishikori set up a round-of-16 clash against Donald Young. Nishikori was commanding in his 6-2, 6-2 win over southpaw Gilles Muller, who was seeded 25th. Nishikori saved the only break point on his serve, which he faced in the second set, and converted four of the 10 opportunities he had on Muller’s serve, two in each set.

Novak Djokovic notches up 300th win at ATP Masters 1000 level

World No 2 and second seed Novak Djokovic needed three sets to get past Juan Martin del Potro in their third round clash. After pocketing the first set, the Serbian looked to have lost his way in the second with the Argentine opening a double-break lead.

Though Djokovic pulled a break back, the Tandil native convincingly served out the set to send the game into the decider. The third set was completely dominated by the three-time defending champion, who wrapped up the match in the seventh game thanks to two consecutive breaks on Del Potro’s serve.

Djokovic will now face Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round, in a rematch of their Acapulco quarter-final. The 15th seeded Australian defeated 18th seeded Alexander Zverev. The first meeting between the duo, Kyrgios won 6-3, 6-4.

Americans register shock wins

Young upset the 14th seed Lucas Pouille 6-4, 1-6, 6-3 in an hour and 47 minutes. Young outplayed the Frenchman in all departments, despite the latter winning comparatively more margin of points in the match – 52% to Young’s 48%.

Lastly, Malek Jaziri and the 17th seeded Jack Sock will play each other for a place in the quarter-finals on Wednesday evening. It will be the 33-year-old Tunisian second appearance in the fourth round in a Masters 1000 tournament, after having reached the fourth round at the 2014 Shanghai Masters.

Sock had quite an enthralling encounter against the 12th seeded Grigor Dimitrov and saved four match points in the third set tie-break, before winning it 9-7 to claim the win. Earlier, it was the Bulgarian, who had taken the opening set 6-3, before Sock stormed back into the match after winning the second set with the same scoreline.