At the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Juan Martin Del Potro is continuing on his attempt to win his first ever Masters 1000 tournament, a title that has eluded the Grand Slam winner. To win the title, Del Potro will have to get through a familiar obstacle: Roger Federer. The Swiss leads their head-to-head 18:6. The only time they have played in Indian Wells was in 2012, a quarterfinal match which Federer won.

Federer reached the final by beating Borna Coric 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. The match took 2:20 hours and Federer was visibly frustrated. Coric forced Federer far behind the baseline, closing off chances for Federer to move in and playing his preferred game. In the third set, as Federer hypothesized, Coric began to get nervous and allowed Federer to play his game more successfully. He explained the predicament: “You're understanding that the opponent is playing better. It's breezy. It's hard to play offense. And when I was playing offense he was defending well. In the neutral alley balls, maybe I was missing a bit too many times.”

Del Potro has suffered through numerous injuries, and Federer is happy to welcome him back in the top 10 and meet him late in tournaments. That said, their extensive head-to-head presents its own challenges: “We have had a lot of close matches. Big matches, close matches. Just three-setters, five-setters the whole way. I think we have an interesting matchup, you know. We both know what the other is trying to do, and we try to stop the other person from doing it. But it's hard when me or him is in full flight. It's basically an arm wrestle the whole time, and I think we enjoy that. We know each other well. I think we respect each other in a big way. We're both happy for one another, I think, when we do well, generally happy.”

Del Potro reached the finals by beating Milos Raonic 6-2, 6-3. Del Potro is no stranger to the personal pressures it takes to play one of the sport’s greats and intends to make the most out of his time on court and appreciate the experience of playing the final under the desert sun: “He's the favorite to win tomorrow, but I will try to do my best tennis. I beat him in the past, and I know how can I do to repeat that, but is not easy. It will be a good challenge to see how my level is against him. And then I think everybody was expecting that final, and I will try to enjoy the atmosphere on court.”