Rafael Nadal (R) has set up a semi-final against Tomas Berdych Rafael Nadal took another step in his return from injury with a convincing victory over a hurting Roger Federer on Thursday in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters, AFP reports. Nadal broke Federer three times in the second set en route to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the 17-time Grand Slam champion, who has been nursing a nagging back injury.
\"I don\'t think Roger was 100 percent tonight,\" said Nadal, who nevertheless said the win over his great rival was a key step in his comeback from a seven-month absence while rehabilitating his damaged left knee.
\"It was an important win for me,\" he said. \"They all are now.\"
Nadal, the former world number one and winner of 11 Grand Slam titles, returned in February and notched one runner-up finish and two titles in a three-tournament Latin American clay-court swing.
But he hadn\'t tested his knee on hard courts since pulling out of the Miami Masters last March. He\'s the fifth seed in a field led by world number one Novak Djokovic, which also includes third-ranked Scot Andy Murray and second seed and 2012 champion Federer.
Nadal improved to 19-10 against Federer in a rivalry stretching back to 2004, which has included some epic clashes on the game\'s biggest stages. The pair had not met since the Indian Wells semi-final last year.
Nadal kept the pressure on Federer\'s serve in the opening set and earned the only break he needed in the seventh game for a 4-3 lead.
He secured the set with a service winner on his fourth set point.
In the second set he made effective use of his forehand and sped to a 3-0 lead with two breaks of serve.
Federer regained a break in the fourth game - his first opportunity of the match - but an uncharacteristic number of errors kept him from making further inroads and Nadal wrapped up the victory after one hour and 24 minutes when Federer netted a backhand.
\"I played a fantastic first set,\" Nadal said. \"The second set was strange. The second set I think Roger didn\'t fight as usual. Probably he had some problems and he didn\'t feel enough comfortable to keep fighting.\"
Federer, meanwhile, said that while he clawed out a victory over Stanislas Wawrinka in the fourth round despite his aching back, Nadal had been too good.
Nadal advanced to a semi-final showdown with sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over South African Kevin Anderson.