Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal: Semi-final preview – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Now once again it is the match every tennis fanatic waits to see throughout the season, the Swiss Maestro taking on the King of Clay in the semi-final of an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Masters 1000 event. The two
of the finest athletes will face each other for yet another roller coaster ride in the round of four at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, the United States.
The highly rated matchup between Roger Federer and the second ranked Rafael Nadal will be played on the outdoor hard courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in California on Saturday night and the winner of the two will get a
title shot in the final. No tennis match is considered bigger enough as compared to these two arch rivals battling out one-on-one for glory.
The in-form Swiss is already 21-2 in the 2012 ATP season, with two championship titles under his belt. Federer has been riding his vintage form since the past few months and is looking ever-hungry to reclaim his world number one
spot from the mighty Serb, Novak Djokovic, in the current season. He won well deserved titles at the ABN Amro world Tennis Championships in Rotterdam and then at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships to extend his title count to 72 last month.
Federer took off his Indian Wells campaign by blowing away the local wild card entrant, Denis Kudla in the second round. He had to manoeuvre his way through the third and fourth round, having gruelling contests against the booming
Canadian, Milos Raonic and the Brazilian number one, Thomaz Bellucci, to book a spot in the quarters. The Swiss delivered another master class show to defeat the former US Open champion, Juan martin Del Potro, in the quarter-final round, beating the Argentine
for the fourth successive time this year.
Second seed Nadal made a comeback from a lay-off following his Australian Open final loss to Djokovic and forced his opponents down in the early round of the BNP Paribas Open. He outdone Leonardo Mayer, Marcel Granollers and the
21st seed Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets to reach the final-eight of the tournament. Nadal dropped a set for the first time in the event when he faced the former world number three, David Nalbandian, in the quarter-finals but recovered with
great mastery to make it through to the semis.
It will be the 28th time Federer compete against Nadal in a singles contest, with the Spaniard winning 18 of the prior encounters and the Swiss bagging 9 wins. The Swiss Maestro broke Nadal’s three-match winning streak
against him at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals last year, nailing an authoritative win in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0. He then lost to the Spaniard wizard in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in a four-setter but the thumping victory he had over him in
the 2011 season-ending grand finale will be still fresh in his mind.
The previous trends of matches between these two makes Nadal the hot favourite for the Saturday’s contest but the in-form Swiss will not let it go that easily this time round. If Nadal wins, it will be a three-setter and if Federer
gets the better of his arch rival, he might finish off the proceedings in straight sets. Let your fingers crossed and watch the two former top ranked players battle it out for their pride in Indian Wells this weekend.
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