Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal: What’s At Stake in Twilit Indian Wells Showdown

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at Internationaled.org

Published: March 14, 2013

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Call it what you will, but the gods of sport have appeared to forcibly align the stars this week at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden for our viewing pleasure. Roger Federer versus Rafael Nadal. Need there be an explanation to its epic proportions and nostalgia?

Destiny-laden vibes were circulating through the flowing crowds from the very start of the first Masters 1000 of the 2013 season, as Nadal received a walkover into the fourth round and Federer avoided a rematch against his Rotterdam conqueror in Julien Benneteau. The prospect of Switzerland's Roger and Spain's Rafa meeting in the quarterfinals became more than mouth-watering as the potential encounter crept nearer.

Then came the gargantuan obstacles in Stanislas Wawrinka and Ernests Gulbis for Federer and Nadal, respectively, producing two very enthralling and heart-stopping matches that went down to the wire.

But, true to their word, the powers that be once again seemingly disrupted the momentum of the underdogs in each three-set match, halting their progress toward the biggest wins of their careers with an assortment of nervy errors to hand victory to "Fedal."

Now the living legends will play once again come Thursday night on the hard courts of the BNP Paribas Open, not before 7:00 p.m. PST (10:00 p.m. EST), for their first showdown in exactly a year (with Federer defeating Nadal in the semis at the tournament's 2012 edition, 6-3, 6-4), and the 29th career meeting between the two promises to be special.

The matchup is impeccably timed, falling smack in the middle of Rafa's scrupulously followed comeback to the big time and Roger's underwhelming monotony—and possible injury—to the beginning of his 2013 campaign. More importantly, though, it is the most critical match of the year, thus far.



With questions surrounding the health of both champions, who together have collected a ridiculous haul of 28 Grand Slam titles since 2...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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