Roger Federer played sublimely to assert a third straight win over Rafael Nadal without precedent for his profession and achieve the last eight in Indian Wells.
The Swiss, 35, won 6-2 6-3 to catch up his Australian Open last triumph over the Spaniard two months back, when Federer won his eighteenth Grand Slam title.
He will next face Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who annoy world number two Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
Svetlana Kuznetsova was the main player into the ladies’ semis.
The eighth seed saw off kindred Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-3 6-2 and will meet Czech third seed Karolina Pliskova, after she beat Spain’s French Open champion Garbine Muguruza 7-6 7-6.
In the match’s 36th meeting – and first before the quarter-finals of a competition since their underlying meeting in Miami 13 years back – Federer indented his thirteenth triumph and third in succession.
Nadal, 30, had assembled his prosperity against Federer throughout the years on assaulting the Swiss player’s strike, however Federer transformed his weaker wing into a weapon in the Australian Open last, and in the event that anything was much more forceful in Indian Wells.
Federer crunched six strike champs to none from Nadal as he played a faultless opening set, taking it in somewhat over 30 minutes.
Nadal may have wanted to benefit from a surface especially slower than that in Melbourne yet it did nothing to control Federer’s forceful aim.
Another early break in the second set had Federer inside sight of the complete line and he dashed through with four breaks of serve to none to win in 68 minutes.
“I did very well today, I’m so pleased I’m able to step into the court and play super aggressive,” said Federer. “Coming over the backhand has been part of that.”
“It’s a nice feeling to win the last three. I can tell you that,” added the four-time Indian Wells champion.
“But most importantly, I won Australia. That was big for me.
“For me, 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 so it’s hard to put the ball away.”
Kyrgios, 21, gave additional proof that he is currently a drive to be figured with as he blunted the Djokovic return amusement with another sublime serving execution.
Djokovic, 29, was on a 19-coordinate winning streak in the Californian abandon, and offering for a fourth back to back title, yet Kyrgios took their own no holds barred to 2-0 as he rehashed his triumph in their initially meeting in Acapulco 12 days prior.
Similarly as he had in Mexico not long ago, Kyrgios gave the Serb nothing to work with as he controlled through without confronting a break point in about two hours.
