We all still had in our eyes and our minds the epic show we were treated to last January, when Federer and Nadal battled through five sets of one of the most memorable Grand Slam finals in history. Impossible not to compare that duel to the more pedestrian Round of 16 match the two played on Wednesday night at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, but the magnitude of the occasion was not there, the pathos of a record on the line was not there and the uncertainty of the winner was not there.
Roger Federer owned the match from the beginning to the end: “In Australia I had a good chance to win – said Rafa in the post-match press conference – today I did not. He played better than me, I didn’t play my best match, he played well”. The Swiss did not accept to be sucked into long rallies that suited Nadal and that were a constant in most of their first 35 matches, as well as Federer’s slice cross-court backhand.
Points were kept short, and Nadal’s forehand started breaking from the very beginning, when three unforced errors from his left side forced him to drop his serve and give his opponent the leading position. “Physically it wasn’t a problem for me – confirmed Federer – points were short. It trained very hard in the pre-season and I realized I don’t need all the repetitions, because quite rarely points last that long. But I have the physical base, it’s nice not to feel tire”.
One break in the opening game and one break in the last handed the Swiss the first set, after an unsuccessful attempt to the SABR. A lot more successful the serve+forehand scheme, punctually landing very close to the lines. More of the same in the second set, when two breaks sealed the result for Federer after just one hour and 8 minutes.
The block-buster quarter-final with up-and-coming Nick Kyrgios would prove better than their last encounter, according to Federer: “I’m happy it’s not on the birthday of my boys, because I miss being with them. I had to waste a match point and lose that match. I was like, What a waste. I always go to Madrid. That’s how I felt”. During their first meeting, Kyrgios stunned Federer on Mutua Madrid Open clay courts, and he seems overdue for an important win.
