World number one Rafael Nadal required just over an hour on court to demolish German Michael Berrer at the BNP Paribas Open.
Spaniard cruises through in Indian Wells
World number one Rafael Nadal required just over an hour on court to demolish German Michael Berrer in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open.
The Spaniard encountered little resistance from the 28-year-old ranked 112th in the world, who had to qualify for the Indian Wells event.
"For me, it was perfect," said Nadal, who broke Berrer in the very first game and never looked back. "I played a very comfortable match.
"I had the break in the first game in both sets, so that's really important. I felt well on court, playing good."
He will now take on Russian Dmitry Tursunov, a 7-6 4-6 6-3 winner over American qualifier Michael Russell.
Third seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic also booked his place in the third round but struggled to a 7-5 6-4 success over 54th-ranked Martin Vassallo Arguello of Argentina.
Crucial break
The Serb was never at his fluent best but after trading early breaks, Djokovic broke his opponent for the second time in the 11th game before serving out for the set.
Just a single break of serve in the seventh game of the second was enough to seal victory, with German Tommy Haas awaiting in the next round.
"The quality is there," he said. "The game is there. The fitness is getting much better. It's just a mental ability to play the best tennis.
"I know that I cannot perform always my best tennis, but, again, my confidence has been raised in the last month and a half.
"I'm aware that still there needs to be some improvement, but I'm taking it step by step."
Sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro overcame the loss of the first set before beating American Ryan Sweeting 6-7 6-3 6-1 while seventh seed Andy Roddick was pushed to a second set tie-break by Austrian Daniel Koellerer before recording a 6-1 7-6 victory.
The biggest casualty in the men's draw was ninth seed Gael Monfils, the Frenchman crashing 6-7 6-1 6-4 to big-serving American John Isner, while last year's finalist Mardy Fish lost two tie-breakers against Frenchman Jeremy Chardy.
