Johannesburg: Spanish tennis maestro Rafael Nadal advanced to the fourth round of the Indian Wells Masters after defeating compatriot Fernando Verdasco in straight sets on Wednesday.
Nadal, a three-time winner at Indian Wells, saved five set points to claim a 6-0, 7-6 (11-9) win over Verdasco on the main stadium court, Sport24 reported.
With the win, the 14-time major champion avenged his first-round loss to Verdasco at this year’s Australian Open.
Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic continued his dominance of Philipp Kohlschreiber after trouncing the German 7-5, 7-5 in the third round.
Meanwhile, world number one Serena Williams outclassed 70th ranked Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-2 to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals of one of the biggest Masters events on the tennis calendar.
