Rafael Nadal
Spain's Rafael Nadal reacts after missing a shot during his semi-final tennis match against Austria's Dominic Thiem at the ATP Argentina Open in Buenos Aires, February 13, 2016. Reuters/Marcos Brindicci

Rafael Nadal continues his bid for his first ATP World Tour title of the year when he meets Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the quarterfinal round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

Nadal came back from a 2-5 down in the deciding set to defeat German youngster Alexander Zverev 6-7(8) 6-0 7-5, keeping his Indian Wells campaign alive as he looks to channel his old form. The 29-year-old Spaniard said he was pleased with the victory over the 18-year-old tennis prospect, which pushes him closer to a fourth title at the Californian desert.

"A great victory... I'm very happy about it," Nadal said, reports the ATP’s official website. "I am especially happy about the mentality on court, the spirit of fight during the whole match, believing that I can win a match during the whole time even in the tougher situations."

The 14-time Grand Slam winner, who has been looking to channel his old form on the playing court, will next face Nishikori, who advanced into the quarterfinal round at the Indian Wells after surviving a thrilling match against USA’s John Isner 1-6 7-6(2) 7-6(5). Nadal leads Nishikori 7-1 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup, but the world No. 6 Japanese won their most recent meeting in Canada last year.

Facing Nishikori would be another challenge for Nadal as he tries to return to his elite form, but their quarterfinal showdown is expected to be a close game, with both players coming off thrilling matches of their own.

The winner of the match would either face top seed Novak Djokovic or France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the other half of the quarterfinal bracket.

Live streaming info and score updates

Watch the Indian Wells 2016 live via ATP’s official website or TennisTV. Live scores for matches will be available on game days via ATP's official website.

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