INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) — Nanaig si Roger Federer kay Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-3, nitong Miyerkules (Huwebes sa Manila) sa fourth round ng BNP Paribas Open – pinakamaagang pagtatagpo ng dalawa sa isang torneo.
Binasag si Federer ang service play ni Nadal ng apart na ulit tungo sa quarterfinals sa loob lamang ng 68 minuto.
Tangan ni Nadal ang heads-up duel kay Federer (23-13) kabilang ang matikas na panalo sa Australian Open nitong nakalipas na Enero.
“It’s a nice feeling to win the last three.But most importantly, I won Australia. That was big for me,” pahayag ni Federer.
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“The main thing he take the break in the first game, and I had break point in the next game and come back and he had a good serve,” sambit ni Nadal. “When Roger has the advantage, his serve is so good, he has a lot of confidence with his serve, he’s able to play much more relaxed.”
Kahanga-hanga ang laro ng dalawa, ngunit sa dulo ang istilo at determinayon ng Swiss star ang nangibabaw.
“When you serve well and stay on the offensive and you press, you can actually play some really good, aggressive tennis here,” ayon kay Federer.
Naputol naman ang 19-gme winning streak ni Novak Djokovic nang biguin ni Nick Kyrgios, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
“That felt good to kind of prove it wasn’t a one-off thing,” pahayag ng dating kampeon na si Kyrgios.
“I competed for every point. It was hot out there. We played for two hours. It was just a good, honest,” sambit ni Kyrgios.
Sa women’s match, umusad si No. 3 Karolina Pliskova nang pabagsakin si seventh-seeded Garbine Muguruza 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Sunod niyang makakaharap si No.8 Svetlana Kuznetsova, namayani kay 19th-seeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3, 6-2.
