Nadal In Fine Form At Indian Wells

With on-court temperatures touching 120 degrees, Rafael Nadal stayed cool in a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Guido Pella in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Pella got off to a hot start, breaking Nadal in the third game of their first meeting. But the fifth-seeded Spaniard settled in and reeled off six of the next seven games to clinch the opener and break at the start of the second set. Pella halted Nadal’s momentum by canceling out the break in the second game, but the Spaniard regained his lead in the fifth game and would win the last five games as he closed out victory in one hour and 21 minutes.

“It was a solid match,” said Nadal. “It was a first-round match where I didn’t try to do amazing things. I tried to play solid. I tried to find the rhythm and I think I did. For moments I played well, for moments I played a little bit less well. The important thing is I won and I won in straight sets. I had some good feelings for a lot of moments. In general terms, I think I played a solid match.

“I adapt myself better to the dry heat than to the humid heat. I think it’s easier for the players to resist that conditions than when it’s very, very humid. But it’s true that today was hot and there was a lot of sun out there. It was difficult to control the ball. The ball was flying a lot.”

Nadal is coming off a runner-up showing in Acapulco (l. to Querrey), which marked his first outing since an epic five-set final with Roger Federer at the Australian Open. The Mallorcan has won three of his 28 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles in the desert, compiling a 49-9 tournament record. He lifted the trophy in 2007, 2009 and 2013.

The 30-year-old Nadal finds himself in the ‘group of death’ section of the draw, with the prospect of facing Federer again in the fourth round. For now, the left-hander advances to a meeting with either Pierre-Hugues Herbert or Fernando Verdasco.

 Watch Full Match Replays

Grigor Dimitrov has been one of the hot players at the start of the year and he showed no sign of letting up as he powered through his second-round match with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over Mikhail Youzhny in 70 minutes.

The Bulgarian stated his intent in January by winning the title in Brisbane before reaching his second Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open. He then won his hometown title in Sofia the following week.

The 25 year old, who works with Dani Vallverdu, will look to get past the third round in the desert for the first time when he faces either Jack Sock or Henri Laaksonen.