The match-up everyone clamoured for when the BNP Paribas Open draw was announced has finally arrived: Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal will face off in the fourth round on Wednesday in Indian Wells.
The Round of 16 contest will mark the 36th meeting of their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry. Nadal leads the series 23-12 but their 14-year back-and-forth is far more complicated than a single record. Here are six things to know about one of tennis' greatest rivalries.
1. Federer is attempting to beat Nadal three straight times for the first time in his career, having defeated the Spaniard in the Australian Open final (2017) and Basel final (2015).
2. This is their earliest meeting since the third round of the Miami Open in 2004, when they played for the first time. Nadal won 6-3, 6-3.
3. This will be their 17th meeting at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 level (Nadal leads 12-4).
[ALSO LIKE]
4. It is their third meeting in Indian Wells. Federer won 6-3, 6-4 in the 2012 semi-finals and Nadal won 6-4, 6-2 in the 2013 quarter-finals. On both occasions the victor went on to win the title.
5. Nadal holds a slight 9-8 edge on hard court over Federer.
6. The player to win the first set has won the match seven of the past eight times. Federer has only once come back to win after losing the first set.
