Roger Federer piles pressure on Rafael Nadal ahead of potential Indian Wells showdown
ROGER FEDERER has piled the pressure on Rafael Nadal ahead of the Spaniard’s clash with Karen Khachanov.
Indian Wells: Federer admits Nadal is 'looking supreme’
Federer could face Nadal in the Indian Wells Masters semi-finals this weekend.
But first both men have to get through their respective quarter-finals tonight.
Federer takes on Hubert Hurkacz for the first time in his career while Nadal clashes with world No 13 Khachanov.
And Nadal is up against it, according to his long-term rival.
“Rafa looked supreme this week,” Federer said.
“He clearly also goes in as I favourite against Khachanov, but Khachanov played a good match just now against [John] Isner.
“I think that's also going to be quite a test for Rafa, but same for me with Hubert.
“I don't think we're looking too far ahead, to be honest.”
Federer also spoke about the excitement of testing himself against the best players in the world.
“I think that's also one of the reasons I'm still in the game is that hopefully when I play the top guys that I'm ready for it,” he added.
“For that, I train hard.
“The thing is, is when I'm still quite highly ranked, I don't see them very soon in the draw, so I have to go a long way to get to them.
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“And it's not easy to get to semis or finals of Masters 1000s.
“I’m very happy this week. I hope I can get there, but I'm not going to underestimate Hubert.”
Federer beat British No 1 Kyle Edmund 6-1, 6-4 last night.
The 37-year-old is hunting his 101st career ATP title in California.