BNP Paribas Open 2019: Federer vs Nadal clash gets closer 

Both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal breezed through their round of 16 matches at the BNP Paribas Open in California.

With Novak Djokovic having crashed out yesterday to Philip Kohlschreiber, Federer and Nadal are now, rightly, the favourites to claim the title this year.

Although that doesn't mean everything in tennis, as nothing is guaranteed, it does add a level of importance to the potential semi final clash that could see the two legends face one another.

Despite Nadal reaching the Australian Open final, and Federer recently winning his 100th title in Dubai, both players have struggled to find consistency.

Nadal hasn't beaten Federer since 2014

However, their displays in the Indian Wells Masters, so far, can provide at least some indication that the two all time greats are rediscovering their form again, that seemed to have deserted them in the first half of 2018.

Obviously they still need to win their quarter final matches in the coming days before we can properly entertain the idea of the two meeting each other in the semi finals, it is still something that is interesting to think about.

Federer and Nadal's rivalry is one of the most fabled in tennis history, and although Nadal leads their head to head quite comfortably, thanks to his dominance on clay, the Spaniard has failed to beat the Swiss since 2014.

The 2017 season was defined by Federer and Nadal, but even then, Federer won all four of their encounters, with three of them being won in straight sets.

In addition, if Federer and Nadal do meet in the semi finals and Federer wins, he will be the first out of the two to win six matches in a row against the other, with both players only managing five on the trot against one another up until now.

Before then, however, our gaze should be firmly fixed on their quarter final matches first, before we can treat this potential meeting as a reality. For now though, we can dream.