Rafa Routs Donaldson In Indian Wells Opener

Rafael Nadal was close to perfect during his BNP Paribas Open debut on Sunday evening. The second-seeded Spaniard pushed Jared Donaldson all around Stadium 1 en route to his 6-1, 6-1 win that took only 72 minutes.

The Spaniard, a three-time champion in Indian Wells, broke Donaldson on five of six opportunities and never faced a break point. Nadal was starting his third event of 2019, after making the final of the Australian Open and falling in Acapulco to eventual champion Nick Kyrgios.

Nadal will meet Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the third round. The World No. 2 leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 6-0.

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The 25th seed moved into the third round with a 6-3, 6-1 win against Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena. Both Schwartzman and Roberto Carballes Baena lost to Marco Cecchinato during the Italian’s title run at the Argentina Open last month. But it was Schwartzman who was in control throughout, winning 55 per cent of his return points en route to his one-hour, 27-minute triumph.

Filip Krajinovic arrived in Indian Wells having lost five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 matches. But the Serbian has found his rhythm in the desert, upsetting 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin 6-3, 6-3 to reach the third round.

Krajinovic has previously proven his ability to make deep runs at this level, making the final of the 2017 Rolex Paris Masters (l. to Sock). But the 27-year-old struggled in 2018, tallying a 14-17 tour-level record.

He is already off to a better start in 2019, ousting Goffin after one hour and 23 minutes to earn his eighth win of the season. Krajinovic, who beat Mikhail Kukushkin in the first round, earned 56 per cent of his return points against Goffin, breaking the Belgian’s serve six times.

Krajinovic will next face in-form Russian Daniil Medvedev. The 14th seed overcame home favourite Mackenzie McDonald 7-5, 6-0 in 68 minutes.

Medvedev, who is at a career-high No. 15 in the ATP Rankings, was World No. 57 this time last year. The 23-year-old has won three ATP Tour titles since August (2018 Winston-Salem & Tokyo, 2019 Sofia, and is now 15-4 this season with his victory against McDonald. Medvedev lost just four first-serve points, and he broke the American five times.