INDIAN WELLS — Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer stayed on track for a mouth-watering quarterfinal showdown at the BNP Paribas Open after they both advanced to the last 16 on Monday. — Reuters Spaniard Nadal, twice champion at Indian Wells, was gifted his spot when Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer withdrew with a back injury before the start of their third-round match.
Federer, a four-time winner of the ATP Masters 1000 event, had minor back problems of his own but progressed with a commanding 6-3, 6-1 victory over Croatia’s Ivan Dodig in a contest lasting just 61 minutes.
Federer and Nadal last met a year ago, also at Indian Wells, when the Swiss won a semi-final battle 6-3, 6-4.
Federer tweaked his back during the latter stages of his match against Dodig, but with a rest day yesterday he was not worried that it could affect his last 16 match today.
“It’s not the first time it’s happened in my career, so, I know how to deal with it,” said the world number two.
Federer will next meet compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka, who beat Australian veteran Lleyton Hewitt 6-4, 7-5 in an evening match at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
World number five Nadal, who is competing in his first tournament on a hardcourt surface in almost a year, was saddened when he learned that Mayer had withdrawn.
“That’s bad news, for sure, for the fans and for Mayer, especially,” said the Spaniard, who will next face Latvian Ernests Gulbis. “I talked with him. It seemed like it’s nothing very, very bad.
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“Just a typical back problem, beginning when he was warming up his serve. The physio said maybe in four days, five days he will be ready.
“That’s the most important thing, that nothing is serious,” said the Spaniard, who was sidelined for seven months last year by a left knee injury.
In other matches, sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych eased past Germany’s Florian Mayer 6-4, 6-1 while 10th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet swept aside Poland’s Jerzy Janowicz 6-1, 6-4.
