Roger Federer breathed fire into a cold, windy desert evening at Indian Wells on Saturday and blew his great rival Rafael Nadal right out of the BNP Parisbas semifinal with a stunning 6-3, 6-4 victory.
This was the 28th time two of the greatest players tennis has ever seen had played each other, and it was not just because the Spaniard led their head-to-head record by 18-9 that Nadal was expected to win.
Most experts thought the conditions would favor the left-hander, not least because he had played superbly in the wind to beat Andy Murray decisively here in the 2009 final.
So much for those pointers.
Not until the last few games of the second set did Nadal look capable of offering Federer a real challenge. Obviously ill at ease, Rafa struggled with the timing on his backhand and occasionally completely mis-hit service returns. Even though he had pulled back from 0-3 in the first set to 3-3, he quickly lost his serve again as Federer swept imperious forehands out of Nadal’s reach.
The faces in the Nadal box, where actor Ben Stiller had been offered a seat, were drawn and anxious as they huddled against the cold. Further back, out of the wind, Mirka Federer, well again after an attack of the flu, looked fully content as she applauded her husband’s majestic play alongside one of his greatest supporters, Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
If it is the man’s elegance and style that attracts Ms Wintour’s eye, then there was much on display for her to admire as Federer made light of a swirling ball to produce some stunning winners.
Light as ever on his feet, he handled one lob that veered all over the place with a quick adjustment, swiveled and hit a beautifully placed forehand winner.
Not until Nadal was facing the possibility of going down a second break at 15-40 in the fifth game of the second set did the Spaniard start looking like the competitor we know he can be. Suddenly some better-placed returns drew errors from the Federer forehand, and Nadal held on for 2-3.
But there was no reprieve two games later as he mis-hit a backhand on reak point after double faulting on the previous point.
So, at 5-2, Federer served for the match — served, in fact, for what would be his first victory over Nadal on an outdoor hardcourt since the final in Miami in 2005.
But he had to wait for it. Nadal was starting to find the rhythm on his forehand and began pushing Federer wide on Roger’s own forehand. Two big winners on that flank from 15-30 snatched the break back, and there was more show if intent from Nadal as he held serve to close the gap still further.
Serving for the match a second time, Federer revealed the tension in his arm, with a double fault to go down 15-30. But then one of those glorious forehand cross courts put him level and, after a furious rally that saw Federer defending as if he were Nadal himself, Rafa netted on the backhand.
Match point. And then it rained. The timing was impossible.
Nadal obviously was the one keener to stop, but it did not take long for the umpire to test the slipperiness of the court and agree with him. It was just a squall, and the players, covering up, sat in their chairs and waited.
Thankfully for everyone’s nerves, the delay was only three minutes, and when Federer came out to serve he produced a typically swinging first delivery out wide to Nadal’s forehand in the ad court.
“Actually I had decided to go down the T while I was sitting there thinking about it,” Federer said afterward. “But as I threw it up I changed my mind and went wide. I’m glad I did!”
Nadal had no excuses afterward.
"He played fantastic, so congratulate him,'' he said. "He played more aggressive and served very well. I fight for every ball. At 5-2, I tried although it was a very difficult situation for me at that moment.
"But I have to try and I did. A lot of times the wind is working for me, is not a problem, so that is not an excuse. He played better."
So Federer will now the get the chance to avenge his recent Davis Cup defeat when he meets John Isner, the man who beat him so surprisingly on clay in Switzerland last month, in Sunday's final.
“He’s a great player,” said Federer. “It will be tough. He beat me and then yesterday he played so well to beat Novak Djokovic. But I’m looking forward to it.”
