Indian Wells, California Twice champion Rafa Nadal and triple winner Roger Federer barely raised a sweat as they each cruised into the third round of the Indian Wells ATP tournament with imperious victories on Sunday.
Spaniard Nadal ruthlessly dealt with Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-1 6-3 before Swiss maestro Federer eased past American wild card Denis Kudla 6-4 6-1 in the evening session at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Left-hander Nadal, who has reached the semi-finals at Indian Wells in his last six appearances, broke Mayer twice in each set to wrap up a commanding win in one hour, 15 minutes.
The match ended when a Mayer forehand sailed wide and Nadal removed his green headband in triumph as the near-capacity crowd erupted in applause. "It's nice to be back playing at the very good level," the Spaniard, who will next face compatriot Marcel Granollers, told reporters. "Winning is the most important thing."
Nadal, who dominated Mayer with his crunching ground strokes from behind the baseline, had not competed since he lost an epic Australian Open final to Novak Djokovic in January.
The world number two enjoys a superb record at Indian Wells where he won the title in 2007 and 2009 and was beaten in last year's final by Serb Djokovic. World number three Federer, who is shaking off a flu bug, broke Kudla twice in the opening set and three times in the second to wrap up a one-sided victory in under an hour.
"I'm always relieved and happy when I am able to find my way into a tournament, see where you're at," said the 16-times grand slam champion.
Results
Men (second round): Denis Istomin (UZB) bt Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG x31) 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (7/9), 7-5; Fernando Verdasco (ESP x19) bt Ryan Sweeting (USA) 6-2, 6-2; Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG x9) bt Marinko Matosevic (AUS) 7-5, 6-2; Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) bt Bjorn Phau (GER) 7-5, 6-2; Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) bt Feliciano Lopez (ESP x15) 6-3, 6-4; Marcel Granollers (ESP x26) bt Tommy Haas (GER) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3; Rafael Nadal (ESP x2) bt Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 6-1, 6-3; Thomaz Belluci (BRA) bt Jurgen Melzer (AUT x20) 6-3, 6-3; Janko Tipsarevic (SRB x10) bt Gilles Muller (LUX) 6-4, 6-2; David Ferrer (ESP x5) bt Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 6-2, 6-2; Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA x6) bt Michael Llodra (FRA) 4-1 retired; Radek Stepanek (CZE x28) bt Xavier Malisse (BEL) 6-2, 6-1; David Nalbandian (ARG) bt Marin Cilic (CRO x24) 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4); Milos Raonic (CAN x27) bt Carlos Berlocq (ARG) 6-4, 6-2; Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR x21) bt Steve Darcis (BEL) 6-7 (13/15), 6-3, 7-5; Roger Federer (SUI x3) bt Denis Kudla (USA) 6-4, 6-1.
Women (third round): Victoria Azarenka (BLR x1) bt Svetlana Kuznetsova (RUS x25) 6-1, 6-2; Julia Goerges (GER x14) bt Anabel Medina Garrigues (ESP x24) 6-3, 6-4; Angelique Kerber (GER x18) bt Vania King (USA) walkover; Li Na (CHN x8) bt Zheng Jie (CHN x31) 6-1, 6-3; Klara Zakopalova (CZE) bt Vera Zvonareva (RUS x9) walkover; Christina McHale (USA x23) bt Petra Kvitova (CZE x3) 2-6, 6-2, 6-3; Agnieszka Radwanska (POL x5) bt Flavia Pennetta (ITA x27) 6-4, 6-2; Jamie Hampton (USA) bt Jarmila Gajdosova (AUS) 6-2, 6-7 (1/7), 6-2.
