Nadal Dismisses Federer at Indian Wells

Rafael Nadal reached the semifinals at Indian Wells for the 8th consecutive year with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Roger Federer.

By Chris Oddo

(March 14, 2013) -- They can’t all be classics. And certainly, with the standard that the Federer-Nadal rivalry has set over the course of the last nine years, even a highly entertaining, though not epic, match could be considered a disappointment.

Such was the case tonight, as Rafael Nadal made relatively short work of his longtime rival, 6-4, 6-2, in a dreary, 84-minute affair.

The 29th installment of tennis's benchmark rivalry was certainly not epic, and to call it highly entertaining would be a bit of a stretch, too, but for those in attendance at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, just to see these two living legends ebbing and flowing around a tennis court, trading forehands and backhands, sneakers squeaking, strings symphonic, will have been more than enough.

Even if the quality tennis only lasted for a few games in the first set, the occasion, regardless of outcome is monumental whenever these two meet.

Read: Federer-Nadal, by the Numbers

Nadal’s 19th career win over his rival against only 10 losses, and his 11th consecutive win against top ten opposition, was tense, and even entertaining for a spell. But after the Spaniard broke Federer’s serve to take a 4-3 lead in the opening set, the desire seemed to drain out of the 17-time Grand Slam champion’s body.

Federer, who was suffering from back spasms this week, just as he has for most of the season, did manage to ward off two break points in the ninth game to force Nadal to serve the set out. But Nadal did just that, routinely holding behind a steady torrent of serves to Federer's backhand side, his weapon of choice for most of the evening.

Afterwards, Federer spoke of his lingering problem with the back, downplaying it, but also recognizing that it played a part in his demise. “I mean, I could play,” he said. I’m happy to be out there and able to compete, you know.”

But as the match wore on, it was apparent that it was more than just an off day for Federer. His attempts at makeable volleys were uncharacteristically half-baked, and his shot selections were too ill-conceived. Even Federer agreed that the back probably contributed to his poor play, saying “That doesn’t work against guys like Rafa.”

Federer began the second set with an unfortunate string of errors, and was broken twice consecutively to trail 3-0.

Even more telling was the sense of resignation in Federer’s body language. At times it seemed that if a taxi pulled up, Federer would have just dropped his racquet there on the court and hopped in.

‘Take me away,’ he must have been thinking, as his arch nemesis vigorously pummeled his half-hearted approach shots past him and into the corners, and pelted serves to his backhand time and time again with much success.

For Nadal, playing his first hard-court tennis since nearly a year ago, the ease with which he was able to power past Federer can only infuse him with more confidence. He may not be in perfect form yet, but given that his only expectations for Indian Wells were to see how his health held up, he must be thrilled to see that he can still be a deadly threat on a hard court if he wishes to be.

Nadal will face Tomas Berdych in one of Saturday’s semifinals, and that may be a truer test of Nadal’s current form than tonight's ramble over Federer. “I don’t think Roger was 100 percent tonight,” Nadal admitted afterwards.

But Berdych, who engineered late breaks in both sets today to take down an in-form Kevin Anderson of South Africa, 6-4, 6-4, certainly is at 100 percent.

With a big, bristling game, the former Wimbledon finalist and current 6th seed at Indian Wells is looking like a player who may finally be able to push Nadal to the brink. Whether he can push him past the brink remains to be seen; Berdych has lost 11 straight to Nadal, but he has taken sets off of the Spaniard in each of their last two hard court contests.

Read: Who will be next to win their Maiden Slam?

If not enough has been said about Nadal’s remarkable return to form in recent months, it’s because we’ve become used to his dominance. After a hiccup in Chile when he lost to Horacio Zeballos in the final, he’s steadily improved his game. Last night, in a thrilling battle with upset-minded Ernests Gulbis, Nadal showed the world that he still thrives in those pressure-packed situations that tend to destroy other, lesser players.

He may not be in perfect form yet, but his legendary fight, and his ability to compose himself for meaningful segments of matches, has never left him.

Just a few months ago it was difficult to imagine him playing tennis again. Now, two titles and fifteen wins later, it’s hard to imagine him losing.

A lot can change in tennis in a very short time. Roger Federer, who took some serious lumps tonight, is hoping that his fortunes will change, too. After a few weeks of rest, the clay season will begin in earnest.

As always, hope will spring eternal.

(Photo Credit: AP)