Nadal, Federer Push Big Four into Indian Wells Third Round

The Big Four of men’s tennis bulldozed through the opening weekend of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal raced by Igor Sijsling 6-4, 6-2, while No. 2 Roger Federer won his sixth match in a row, downing Diego Schartzman by the same 6-4, 6-2 scoreline on Sunday.

Nadal and Federer joined World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Andy Murray, who both won on Saturday, in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Federer’s next match will be a rematch against Andreas Seppi, who knocked the Swiss out in the third round of the this year’s Australian Open.

“I’m happy to play him again. I was very disappointed with the performance I had in Australia,” Federer said. “I hope this time around it’s going to go better for me.”

For years, the Big Four has dominated men’s tennis winning every major tournament, including Master’s 1000 events such as Indian Wells. However, there have been signs that the dominance might be close to ending. Something Nadal said will happen.

“Novak, Andy, Roger, myself - it’s something special and it’s finishing,” Nadal said. “I don’t know if (it will happen) in one, two, three, four years, but for everybody it finishes, hopefully we created a good example for the next generations.”

Djovokic and Nadal are seeking their fourth titles, while Federer is bidding to claim a record fifth title in Indian Wells.