Nadal and Federer face-off again; Vesnina ousts Kerber

Nadal defeated countryman Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 7-5 on Tuesday while Federer got the better of the United States’ Steve Johnson 7-6(3), 7-6(4), reports Efe.

It was Nadal’s 50th victory at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, the venue for three of his 28 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 triumphs.

Nadal, 30, enjoys a 16-3 advantage in matches against Verdasco, who last defeated his compatriot in the 2016 Australian Open. 

Federer and Nadal have squared off 35 times, most recently in the final of the Australian Open, where the Swiss legend prevailed in an epic five-set match.

Later, Russia’s Elena Vesnina ousted German second seed Angelique Kerber 6-3 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals. The victory was the 14th-seeded Vesnina’s first against a top-three player and put the doubles specialist into a last-eight showdown against Venus Williams.