Novak Djokovic and Fabio Fognini may have suffered early exits from the singles draw at the BNP Paribas Open, but they thrilled crowds in Indian Wells by playing entertaining tennis to advance to the doubles semi-finals. Sixths seeds Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo battled hard to bring their run to an end, though, defeating Djokovic and Fognini 7-6(5), 2-6, 10-6 on Friday to reach the first ATP Masters 1000 championship match of the year.

“I think the fact we played together for a long time, this makes a difference. We know against these guys we had to play to win,” Melo said. “I think we were aggressive, how we should be, in important moments. We do what we have to do and most of the time for us, it pays off. I’m very happy with this, so let’s go forward for tomorrow to the finals. We’re really looking forward to this one.”

Kubot/Melo and Djokovic/Fognini won the same number of points (71) in the match, but the Polish-Brazilian duo was a step ahead in the key moments, triumphing after one hour and 40 minutes. They will face Nikola Mektic and Horacio Zeballos on Saturday for the Masters 1000 trophy.

“Now we face two doubles players. They know how we play, we know how they play, so it’s going to be a very strategic match. Like today we have to go and try our best, focus, because if not they’re going to win,” Melo said. “They’re such great players. We have been playing very good, so I hope we keep this level and hold the trophy.”

Kubot and Melo have played together full-time since 2017, whereas this is only Mektic and Zeballos’ second tournament together. Kubot and Melo are giving the Croat-Argentine duo its due, though, and they know they’ll need to be at their best to earn their fifth Masters 1000 crown as a tandem.

“They have a lot of wins together this year already and are also full of confidence, so we’re looking forward for another [tough] match,” Kubot said. “But we want to enjoy the match we just finished.”

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are set to compete at the BNP Paribas Open for the fourth time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series on Saturday, when they meet in the semi-finals.

Federer has won two of the pair’s three meetings in Indian Wells, but three-time champion Nadal will try to even their rivalry in the desert. ATPTour.com looks back on the pair’s first three clashes in the desert:

2012 Semi-finals: Federer def. Nadal 6-3, 6-4
For the first time since 2003, Federer arrived in Indian Wells outside the Top 2 of the ATP Rankings. In 2011, the Swiss did not capture a Grand Slam title for the first time since 2002. And less than two months before this match, Nadal defeated Federer in the Australian Open semi-finals. The pressure was on for Federer to earn a big win.

Federer got off to a perfect start in their BNP Paribas Open semi-final, storming to a 3-0 lead to set the tone for the match. While Nadal battled hard, the Swiss was too strong on the day, breaking the World No. 2’s serve four times to advance to the final.

“I felt good about my game. I guess I had a no‑lose mentality,” Federer said. “I’ve not felt great this week. I didn’t expect myself to play so well tonight, and this is sometimes when you can pull off the biggest wins of your career. That’s why I’m happy I gave myself a chance this week.”

Federer lost a set in the third round against 21-year-old Milos Raonic and another in the fourth round against Thomaz Bellucci. But he was able to summon his best tennis against Nadal to triumph after after one hour and 32 minutes on a windy day.

“He played fantastic. His serve was with high percentage, and I wasn’t able to play my usual tactics against him with those conditions,” Nadal said. “I tried, fought until the last ball. I lost against a player who played better than me this afternoon.”

Federer had not lifted the Indian Wells trophy since capturing his third straight in 2006. But the Swiss went on to defeat home favourite John Isner in the final to win his fourth of five titles in the desert.

2013 Quarter-finals: Nadal def. Federer 6-4, 6-2
After the pair’s 2012 semi-final in Indian Wells, the legends did not meet again until the next year’s BNP Paribas Open. That was in part due to Nadal not competing after his second-round loss at Wimbledon because of knee tendinitis.

Nadal, who began 2013 in February by playing three clay-court events, won 12 of 13 matches leading into Indian Wells. And while it was his first hard-court tournament of the year, you wouldn’t have known by watching him play, squeaking by Ernests Gulbis in a three-set thriller that lasted more than two-and-a-half hours to reach the quarter-finals against Federer.

The World No. 5 feasted on the Swiss’ second serve, winning 70 per cent of those points. Nadal earned 11 break points, converting four times.

“Two weeks ago I didn’t know if I can be here, and tomorrow I will be in semi-finals,” Nadal said. “A lot of positive energy, and [I’m] very happy.”

Federer struggled a bit with a back injury, so Nadal knew winning the first set would be key. The Swiss dismissed two set points on his own serve at 3-5, before Nadal held to close out the opener, and that was all the momentum he needed.

“I played a fantastic first set,” Nadal said. “The first set was a good match, my opinion. Both of us tried to play our best. I played much better than yesterday. My movements today were much, much better than what it used to be yesterday, so [I’m] very happy for that.”

That victory served as a springboard for Nadal, who would go on to beat Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro to lift his third Indian Wells trophy. Nadal won 10 tour-level titles in 2013, the second-most in his career, and he would also return to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings.

2017 Fourth Round: Federer def. Nadal 6-2, 6-3
Federer and Nadal had not met in more than a year when they clashed in the 2017 Australian Open final, a five-set classic that saw 17th seed Federer return to Grand Slam glory.

Yet less than two months later, they were across the net from one another for the third time in Indian Wells, meeting in the fourth round. It was the first time they had played before the quarter-finals of any event since their first FedEx ATP Head2Head match 13 years earlier in the third round in Miami.

While their Melbourne battle was a nail-biter, Federer was in control from the start in Indian Wells. The 35-year-old was aggressive — hitting over his backhand with authority — to keep Nadal on the back foot. A tremendous backhand return winner gave him the double-break in the first set, eventually finishing the opener in just 34 minutes.

“It was all about coming out and trying to play the way I did in Australia. I didn’t think it was going to be that possible, to be quite honest, because the court is more jumpy here or more rough, so it’s hard to put the ball away,” Federer said. “Once I got the break in the second set, obviously you had to be very careful you didn’t get down double-break. I was able to hold my serve, and he couldn’t find a way how to get into my service games more frequently. Next thing you know, it’s all over. It was a really good performance by me.”

Most players would feel confident facing an opponent they’ve beaten five times in a row, but the Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal rivalry is a slightly different case.

After Federer defeated Hubert Hurkacz and Nadal defeated Karen Khachanov on Friday at the BNP Paribas Open, the two men will renew their historic series on Saturday in Indian Wells. Although Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 23-15, Federer has won their past five matches and all of them were on hard courts.

But throughout the 15 years they’ve shared the court, there have also been times when Nadal has dominated their history. With their last battle taking place 17 months ago in the Rolex Shanghai Masters final, the Swiss star believes the slate will be wiped clean on Saturday.

“A lot of time has gone by. A lot has happened in those 18 months… you can’t just copy/paste and play exactly the same thing again,” said Federer. “He’s at a higher level than he was at the Australian Open… especially in a place like Indian Wells, where he feels comfortable, he’s clearly very tough to play.”

The potential for a Federer and Nadal clash has been on everyone’s mind ever since the draw was made last week. While the two men facing off several times per year used to be standard, each time they play each other now has become an experience to be cherished even further. With Federer competing in his 21st year on tour and Nadal his 18th, it’s understandable to wonder how many more times fans will get to watch them trade blows. The rare chance to watch them play makes it little surprise that tickets are sold out for Saturday, with the cheapest ticket in the upper bowl of Stadium 1 running for $350.

But what continues to makes the rivalry compelling is that despite drastic differences in playing styles and personalities, they’ve always found common ground and a healthy respect for each other

“The way we go about it is very different, but yet we both find a way to excel,” said Federer. “The way he came up was very clay-court based, and I was apparently very grass-court based, and we both found our ways on other surfaces…I think it all adds to the cool rivalry that we’ve had. And then you add all the foundation stuff we have, promotional things we have done for the tour, political things, whatever it has been, it’s been quite a journey with Rafa side by side.”

Saturday’s showdown has all the makings of a blockbuster clash because both of them will arrive in peak form, although it’s unclear how Nadal’s knee soreness that he battled against Khachanov will be a factor. Neither player has dropped a set this fortnight and they’re playing with plenty of confidence, but Federer knows he will need to maintain that level if he wants to continue towards a record sixth Indian Wells title.

“I’m holding my serve comfortably. I’m in a good place mentally when I go into my service games, so I hope I can keep that up. You obviously need to against Rafa,” said Federer. “At this stage of the tournament, you have to bring your best game.”