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Federer dispatches young gun in brutal fashion

Roger Federer has stormed into the fourth round at Indian Wells, taking less than an hour to beat Filip Krajinovic.

In his first tournament since his return to No.1 in the ATP Rankings, the defending champion faced 25th seed Krajinovic for the first time.

Federer was clearly not in the mood to get acquainted with the Serbian, though, running out a comfortable 6-2 6-1 winner in just under an hour.

Playing for a third consecutive day due to weather delays in Indian Wells, the 36-year-old Swiss showed no sign of wear.

He was in no mood to muck around. Image: Getty
He was in no mood to muck around. Image: Getty

Federer, who had looked slightly off his game in his rain-disrupted third round match against Federico Delbonis, was his dominant self on Monday, winning 89 percent of his first service points while cracking six aces to just one double fault.

Krajinovic had no answer for Federer's serve or relentless return game and ended up winning just 31 of the match's 93 points.

With rivals Rafa Nadal, Stan Wawrinka and Andy Murray electing not to enter the tournament, and Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori both eliminated, the path appears clear for the Swiss to win a record sixth Indian Wells title.

Somebody stop him. Image: Getty
Somebody stop him. Image: Getty

But first he will have to get past France's Jeremy Chardy, who upset his countryman Adrian Mannarino earlier on Monday.

Federer has already won two titles in 2018, claiming his 20th Grand Slam crown by winning the Australian Open in January.

with agencies