Roger Federer has reached the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open after recording an emphatic 6-2 6-3 win over Rafael Nadal at Indian Wells on Wednesday.
In the pair's 36th meeting, their first before the quarter-finals of a tournament for 13 years, the Swiss star notched his 13th victory and third in a row over his Spanish rival.
The tone was set in the opening game where Federer struck two backhand winners to take Nadal's serve, and a second break soon after wrapped up the set in just 36 minutes.
With Nadal serving to stay in the match at 3-5 in the second set, a fortunate net-cord went the way of his opponent handing Federer two match points, and just one was ultimately needed to see the match out.
Federer's reward for the victory is a last-eight meeting with Australian Nick Kyrgios, who stunned Novak Djokovic with a straight-sets win earlier in the day.
Giuseppe Labellarte
