INDIAN WELLS, United States (AFP) – Former champions Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal edged closer to a blockbuster semifinal showdown at the ATP Indian Wells Masters on Wednesday with brisk fourth-round wins.
World No. 2 Nadal overpowered Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic, 6-3, 6-4, to book his quarterfinal berth in one hour and 26 minutes.
Federer, seeking a record sixth title in the California desert, needed just 64 minutes to get past Britain’s Kyle Edmund, 6-1, 6-4.
Nadal said his performance on a windy stadium court wasn’t as good as his 6-3, 6-1 third-round win over Argentine Diego Schwartzman.
But he was more than a match for 113th-ranked Krajinovic, breaking him early in each set and saving the only break point he faced.
Nadal, who lifted the Indian Wells trophy in 2007, 2008 and 2013, is in the last eight for the first time in three years after missing last year’s edition, skipping both Indian Wells and the Miami Masters with a hip injury.
He next will take on 13th-ranked Russian Karen Khachanov, who beat world number nine John Isner 6-4, 7-6 (7/1).
Khachanov produced just one ace to the big-serving American’s 12 but stretched his record over Isner to 4-0.
Fourth-seeded Federer, fresh off his 100th career title, looked poised to finish off Edmund in less than an hour.
