Kubot/Melo play Mektic/Zeballos in doubles final Saturday
Super Saturday at the 2019 BNP Paribas Open will feature the singles semi-finals and the doubles final. Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic kick off the action at 11:00 am local time in Indian Wells, and will be followed on court by Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, who face off for a 39th time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.
FedEx ATP Head2Head: Thiem v Raonic | Nadal v Federer
Seventh seed Dominic Thiem and thirteenth seed Milos Raonic kick off the day with their semi-final match. Raonic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-0 and hasn’t dropped a set against the Austrian, but they haven’t faced each other since the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals.
“With Dominic, you can't give him too much time,” said Raonic. “He can do a lot of good things, get ahead in the point, and start to run you around a lot if he has time to get into a point and work it. It’s going to be important that I'm very strict with myself and on top of it from the first shot.”
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Raonic began working with Fabrice Santoro two weeks ago and the changes are already evident. The Canadian is playing with more variety from the baseline and showing an even greater willingness to attack the net.
But Thiem is markedly more confident on hard courts than when he last played Raonic. He arrived in Indian Wells with a 3-4 record this season, but the slow hard courts at this event suit his game perfectly and he’s yet to drop a set this fortnight. Thiem is optimistic he can turn the tide against Raonic, but won’t be taking the task lightly.
"He's very difficult to play because he's also good from the baseline and moves well. There are going to be many games where I will have zero chance on his serve, but maybe once a set or once a match, [there will be] a chance and then I’ll try to be focused,” said Thiem. “It’s going to be very difficult because he's playing very well again and his serve is always one of the best.”
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It’s been 17 months since Nadal and Federer last took the court together, which saw Federer prevail in the 2017 Rolex Shanghai Masters final. Nadal lead their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 23-15, but Federer leads their rivalry on hard courts(11-9) and in Indian Wells (2-1).
The Swiss star has also won their past five matches, but said his current momentum in their rivalry won’t matter when they take the court.
“A lot of time has gone by. A lot has happened in those 18 months… you can’t just copy/paste and play exactly the same thing again,” said Federer. “He’s at a higher level than he was at the Australian Open… especially in a place like Indian Wells, where he feels comfortable, he’s clearly very tough to play.”
Federer and Nadal are both playing with confidence and haven’t dropped a set this fortnight. Although all three of their Indian Wells matches have ended with convincing straight-sets scorelines, both men believe the occasion will make the match special, regardless of the outcome.
“It’s different styles, different ways to understand the sport, and at the same time, two players with a good relationship after all the things that we went through in our careers and competing for the most important things,” said Nadal. “All these things always make the matches really special between us. It’s beautiful to have the chance to keep competing at the highest level in advanced rounds, in the most important events, at this late part of our tennis careers."
In Saturday's doubles final, Nikola Mektic and Horacio Zeballos take on Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo. Kubot/Melo reached the doubles final here in 2017 (l. to Klaasen/Ram). Kubot seeks his fifth Masters 1000 doubles title and Melo his 10th. Mektic aims for his second Masters 1000 doubles title and Zeballos is playing in his first final at this level.
Watch Live
ORDER OF PLAY - SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 2019
STADIUM 1 start 11:00 am
[7] Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs [13] Milos Raonic (CAN)
[4] Roger Federer (SUI) vs [2] Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA Doubles Final
Not Before 5:00 pm
DOUBLES FINAL - Nikola Mektic (CRO) / Horacio Zeballos (ARG) vs [6] Lukasz Kubot (POL) / Marcelo Melo (BRA)
vs [2] Rafael Nadal 
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