Rafa,Roger to add new chapter to old rivalry

Defending champion Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal set up a mouth-watering showdown in the BNP Paribas quarter-finals after they battled through tricky fourth-round encounters on Wednesday.

Federer rode his luck to scrape past fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3 6-7 7-5 while Nadal had to come from a set down to beat talented Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis 4-6 6-4 7-5. Federer last played Nadal a year ago,also at Indian Wells,when the Swiss won their semi-final 6-3 6-4,though the Spaniard leads overall in their meetings 18-10.

Top seed Novak Djokovic too advanced with a 6-0 7-6 victory over big-serving American Sam Querrey. Third seed Andy Murray needed almost two hours to beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 7-6 6-4 and will next face seventh-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina,who overpowered German Tommy Haas 6-1 6-2.