Past champions Nadal, Federer advance at Indian Wells
Indian Wells (United States), Mar 11: World number two Rafael Nadal raced into the third round of the ATP Indian Wells Masters as Roger Federer made a less speedy but still successful start to his quest for a sixth title.
Nadal, a three-time Indian Wells winner, needed just 72 minutes to get past overmatched Jared Donaldson 6-1 6-1 on Sunday.
Federer, who is seeking to break out of a tie with top seed Novak Djokovic for most titles in the California desert, looked set for a similarly easy time of it, but had to turn back a second-set challenge from German Peter Gojowczyk in a 6-1 7-5 win.
Fourth-seeded Federer said he was relieved not to go to a second-set tiebreaker after falling behind 3-1 to the free-swinging German who is ranked 85th in the world.
The Swiss regained the break and, after saving four break points to make it 4-4, he broke Gojowczyk for a 6-5 lead, the German double-faulting on break point to give Federer a chance to serve it out.
“I struggled a little bit with my serving in that second set and that gave him chances. Because he was serving better he started to swing more freely and then it was tough,” Federer said.
“I’m really happy I found a way in that second set.” Federer could find himself fighting for a fourth-round berth against fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion currently unseeded as he continues his return from injury.
Wawrinka took on 29th-seeded Hungarian Marton Fucsovics.
