Federer and Nadal on collision course in Indian Wells

 

Originally published on: 06/03/13 00:00

Should both players progress to the last eight in California, it will be the first time the pair will go head-to-head before the semi-finals of a regular ATP event (they met in the round-robin stages of the ATP World Tour Finals in London in 2011) since 2004.

Federer must first come through a potential fourth-round clash against John Isner in a repeat of last year’s final. Nadal, playing his first tournament on hard courts in almost a year, faces either Ryan Harrison or Go Soeda in his opening match.

In the other half of the draw, world No.1 Novak Djokovic is on course to meet Andy Murray in the semi-finals. Murray, who will be making his first appearance since his Australian Open final defeat to Djokovic in January, will meet either Evgeny Donskoy or Tatsuma Ito in the second round.

The Scot, who will be hoping to avoid losing his opening match for a third successive year in Indian Wells, is seeded to face Juan Martin Del Potro in the quarter-finals. Murray could rise to No.2 in the rankings if he reaches the final and Federer fails to reach the semi-finals.

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