Federer and Nadal set to resume rivalry
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic reached the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, beating Sam Querrey 6-0, 7-6 (6) in a match that began four hours late after a marathon day.
Djokovic was brutally efficient in the first set after walking unsmiling onto the court as the remaining fans made their way from the stadium's upper reaches to the lower bowl. Querrey, who will take over as the top-ranked American in the next ATP tour rankings, fought back in the second set.
Djokovic held at 6-all to force the tiebreaker, in which he took a 5-1 lead. Querrey rallied again to tie it at 6-all on a forehand crosscourt winner as some fans yawned. Roger Federer in action against Stanislas Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal reacts after breaking Ernests Gulbis. - Getty Images Rafael Nadal ended the run of Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory that set up a quarter-final against defending champion Roger Federer, who survived a three-set marathon of his own, beating 18th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5.
Gulbis was on a 13-match winning run, having made his way through the qualifying rounds at Delray Beach, Florida, where he won the title, and at Indian Wells, where he won three main-draw matches, including two over seeded players. He was playing his 14th match in 19 days, and has yet to beat Nadal in five tries.
"I think that I played better tennis. I was more aggressive," Gulbis said. "I went for my shots much more than he did. But he did really incredibly well, as he always does, on important points." Gulbis held serve to lead 5-4 in the third. He led 30-15 on Nadal's serve, but lost the next five points to let Nadal tie the set.
Nadal earned the only break of the third to go up 6-5, then closed out the win on his third match point. He leaped, tore off his headband and pumped his left arm, yelling, "Yeah!"
"With all the problems, I was able to keep being focused and keep winning," he said. "I really appreciate every moment and every victory." The fifthseeded Spaniard opened his bid for a third Indian Wells title with a two-set victory over American Ryan Harrison, Nadal's first hard-court match in nearly a year.
Federer, a four-time champion at Indian Wells, is going for his first ATP Tour title since last August. He'll have to get by Nadal in the earliest meeting between the two stars since the first time they played each other in 2004. "In the past, this match used to be a final. Now it's a quarter-final, so obviously it's a bit of bad luck of the draw for both of us," Federer said, noting that between his bothersome back and Nadal's left knee "we are both a bit suspect."
Nadal said he doesn't think his level of play is yet up to what he's normally capable of against Federer.
"This match arrives too early for me to go to the match with the feeling that I can play equal conditions," he said. "Two weeks ago, I didn't know if I would be able to be here. Being in quarter-finals is a fantastic result for me, and we'll see." No. 3 Andy Murray beat Carlos Berlocq 7-6 (4), 6-4 to advance to a quarter-final against No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro, who routed No. 19 Tommy Haas 6-1, 6-2.
Berlocq complained to the chair umpire that Murray was taking too long between points, prompting Murray to protest the volume of Berlocq's grunting. No. 6 Tomas Berdych beat No. 10 Richard Gasquet 6-1, 7-5; No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga outlasted No. 17 Milos Raonic 4-6, 7-5, 6-4; and Kevin Anderson defeated No. 13 Giles Simon 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.