Federer, Nadal on collision course
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. — It is Federer vs. Nadal again, only this time it will be in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open.
Roger Federer beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 6-4, and Rafael Nadal got by Karen Khachanov 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) on Friday to set up the old rivals’ 39th career meeting and first in 16 months.
Neither Federer nor Nadal has dropped a set in four matches in the desert. Federer has been broken just once, while Nadal has dropped serve three times, twice against Khachanov.
Nadal stands in the way of Federer’s pursuit of a record sixth title at Indian Wells.
Still, the Swiss superstar was rooting for Nadal to advance against his 22-year-old opponent.
“Playing against young guys to eventually get to Rafa, that’s exciting,” said Federer, who also faced an opponent the same age as Khachanov.
Nadal’s right knee flared up in the second set for the first time during the tournament. He called for a trainer who applied tape just below the knee. The trainer returned again with Nadal leading 3-2 in the second set.
“My goal and my idea is be ready for tomorrow,” Nadal said. “I cannot guarantee how I’m going to wake up tomorrow morning.”
Knee problems have dogged the 32-year-old Spaniard in recent years, and they cut short his 2018 season after the U.S. Open in September.
“I love to play on hard (courts), but probably my body doesn’t love it that much,” Nadal said. “As I say before, is not only about today, is about tomorrow. Maybe we’re going to pay the price at the age of 45 or something. That will be not nice. When I see some old legends walking around the tour, is tough to see.”
Federer is on a five-matching winning streak against Nadal, who lost to him all four times they played in 2017, including the last time at the Shanghai Masters in October of that year.
“You look back at what I did well there, but you can’t just copy-paste and play exactly the same thing again,” Federer said.
Federer believes Nadal is playing better than he did in losing the Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic, who was upset earlier in the week.
“When Rafa is healthy, especially in a place like here in Indian Wells where he feels comfortable, he’s clearly very tough to play,” Federer said.
The other semifinal Saturday pairs Milos Raonic and Dominic Thiem.