Combined they have five titles from the BNP Parbias, so maybe that’s why Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer dropped only nine games total to advance to the third round.
BNP Paribas Open 2012 Day 5 Results: Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer Ease Into Third Round, Azarenka Wins 19th Straight
Nadal, who has previously won in Indian Wells twice, defeated Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, 6-1 6-3. Nadal broke his opponent twice and won in an hour and 15 minutes. Nadal has reached the last six semifinals of the BNP Parbias. He lost in last year’s final to World No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
The match today was Nadal’s first in six weeks, since his runner-up finish at the Australian Open.
Federer, who has three Indian Wells titles to his name, beat American Denis Kudla 6-4 6-1. Federer broke his wild card opponent’s serve five times and won in under an hour. The victory was Federer’s 10th consecutive win.
On the women’s side, Victoria Azarenka rolled to her 19th straight victory. The World No. 1 beat 25th seed Svetlana Kuznestova, 6-1, 6-2. Azarenka is now onto the fourth round.
From Reuters:
“I’m really pleased with that,” a smiling Azarenka told reporters after dispatching Kuznetsova in one hour.
The upset of the day is courtesy of American Christina McHale. She beat world No. 3 Petra Kvitova in three sets. McHale advanced from the third round with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.
Matchups to watch for in Day 6 (seeds in bold)
Samantha Stosur (AUS) vs Nadia Petrova (RUS)
Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs Kevin Anderson (RSA)
Simona Halep (ROU) vs Maria Sharapova (RUS)
Andy Roddick (USA) vs Tomas Berdych (CZE)
Sofia Arvidsson (SWE) vs Caroline Wozniacki (DEN)
Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (ESP) vs Ryan Harrison (USA)
John Isner (USA ) vs Juan Monaco (ARG)
Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) vs Gilles Simon (FRA)
Matthew Ebden (AUS) vs Mardy Fish (USA)
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