Indian Wells R2 previews and predictions: Nadal vs. Pella, Federer vs. Robert

Australian Open finalists Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will kick off their Indian Wells campaigns during second-round action on Sunday. Nadal is going up against Guido Pella, while Federer is facing Stephane Robert.

(5) Rafael Nadal vs. Guido Pella

It will be an all-lefty affair when Nadal and Pella square off for the first time in their careers in round two of the BNP Paribas Open on Sunday. Nadal is in search of his first title of the season, having suffered losses to Milos Raonic in the Brisbane quarterfinals, Roger Federer in the Australian Open title match, and Sam Querrey in the Acapulco final. The sixth-ranked Spaniard played a doubles match on Friday night in Indian Wells and infamously partnered with Bernard Tomic to defeat Pablo Carreno Busta and Joao Sousa 6-4, 7-6(7).

Pella punched his ticket to the last 64 by scraping past Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 during first-round action. The 26-year-old Argentine climbed to a career-high of 39th in the world last season, but he has plunged to No. 145 due in part to going 1-6 in his last seven matches in 2016 (0-6 in his last six that did not end in retirements). Pella has struggled in similar fashion this year, with a 3-6 mark that is at least decent compared to the 0-5 clip with which he started. Some of the baseline exchanges in this one should be entertaining, but for the most part it will almost certainly be one-way traffic.

Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games

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Stephane Robert vs. (9) Roger Federer

Federer is looking to bounce back from a shocking loss in Dubai to Evgeny Donskoy when the 35-year-old Swiss takes the court on Sunday. In last week’s second round, Federer had three match points that would have given him a straight-set victory, went up 5-2 in the third, and led 5-1 in the final-set tiebreaker only to squander every such advantage. Donskoy clawed back each time and ended up winning the last six points of the contest to triumph 3-6, 7-6(7), 7-6(5). Still, the world No. 10 is 8-1 this season and has to be riding high from his Australian Open title.

Up first for Federer in the California desert is Robert, whom he has never faced. It will be a battle between the two oldest players in the draw, as Robert is 36 years old and has been on the pro tour since 2001. Despite being in the twilight of his career, the Frenchmen peaked at No. 50 in the world last fall and he currently registers at 81st. He may, however, be sticking around for one season too many. Robert started his 2017 campaign 0-6 before finally scoring a win on Friday via a 6-4, 6-4 decision against Dudi Sela. It goes without saying that a date with an 18-time Grand Slam champion will be something entirely different.

Pick: Federer in 2 losing 5-7 games

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