Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal remained on course for a mouthwatering semi-final clash at the BNP Paribas Open with straightforward fourth-round victories in the California desert on Wednesday.
Federer needed just over an hour to dispatch Briton Kyle Edmund 6-1 6-4 in their first career meeting and reach the quarter-finals on a sunny and breezy day in Indian Wells.
Next up for the 20-times Grand Slam champion is another unknown quantity in Pole Hubert Hurkacz, who defeated Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov 7-6(3) 2-6 6-3 earlier in the day to set up his first career meeting with the Swiss Master.
Nadal, 17 times a Grand Slam winner, ruthlessly put an end to Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic’s run at the tournament, converting three of his four break point opportunities to advance 6-3 6-4.
Neither Federer or Nadal have dropped a set in their three matches at Indian Wells, a tournament Federer has won five times and Nadal three.
In other fourth-round action, hard-hitting Canadian Milos Raonic saved all three of Jan-Lennard Struff’s break point opportunities to down the German 6-4 6-3.
The 13th seed will square off against either France’s Gael Monfils or Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber in the quarter-finals on Thursday.