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Indian Wells Masters: dream matchup with Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal

By Harry Floyd

INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 15: Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a forehand against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland during their men's singles quarterfinal match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 15, 2019 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
INDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 15: Roger Federer of Switzerland plays a forehand against Hubert Hurkacz of Poland during their men's singles quarterfinal match at the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden on March 15, 2019 in Indian Wells, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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The men’s singles semifinals at the 2019 Indian Wells Masters pits two of the sport’s greatest players up against one another.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal square off for the 39th time in their careers this weekend at the 2019 Indian Wells Masters. The two tennis legends complete a dream matchup in men’s singles. Only one will advance, getting a shot at the title. We have previously said that both stood a good chance at a title run in Indian Wells this month.

The Swiss tennis star is a five-time champion in men’s singles at the event. Nadal is a three-time winner. As Novak Djokovic saw an earlier than expected exit, either Federer or Nadal will be the favorite once we reach the finals.

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In the other semifinals matchup is Austrian tennis star Dominic Thiem and Canadian great Milos Raonic. The Canadian finished runner-up to Djokovic in 2016 at the Indian Wells Masters.

So, let’s take a deeper dive into the upcoming Federer-Nadal matchup. Overall throughout their careers, they have squared off in men’s singles 38 times. Nadal has scoreboard. The Spanish superstar is 23-15 against Federer.

Check out their career head to head here. Despite Nadal’s dominance throughout the entire stretch of their matches, Federer has won more lately. Although they have not played since 2017, Federer has won the previous five meetings between the two tennis legends.

Four of those five recent matches were finals with the most recent of them being at the 2017 Shanghai Masters. The Swiss great got the best of Rafa throughout all of the 2017 ATP Tour, defeating Nadal in the finals at the Australian Open and in two Masters 1000 finals. If we go back to 2012 and 2013, the two met at the Indian Wells Masters, splitting those matches.

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Who’s the favorite this year at the Indian Wells Masters? Both players are yet to drop a single set. Both players were arguably favorites heading into the tournament action this month. Both have huge wins under their belt on their way to the semifinals. We’re taking Federer in three sets. What do you think?

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