Roger: I've had doubts in the past vs. Rafa

After beating Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of Indian Wells, 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer admits that he hasn’t always been confident against the Spaniard. Nadal leads their head-to-head meetings, 18-10.

"I have had doubts in the past against Rafa," Federer admitted. "It's just normal, I guess. If you get destroyed like in the finals of Paris [in 2008], next time you play him around, which for me unfortunately was the Wimbledon finals, that epic one we had, of course you'll be affected a little bit, even though now you are on your favorite surface potentially. But it did take maybe potentially take me a set or two to shake that off, and then it cost me the match in the end. So sometimes I've gone into matches with Rafa where I knew it was gonna probably difficult because either maybe he's coming in on an incredible hot streak or I'm coming in from an end where I know I probably shouldn't be winning this match tonight just because I'm not feeling right, my game is not up to par. I've maybe come through some other matches against other players, but against Rafa it's a different story."

Federer, who has been fighting a flu at Indian Wells, said he came into their semifinals with a no-lose mentality, which likely aided him. "I didn't expect myself to play so well tonight, and this is sometimes when you can pull off the biggest wins of your career,"  he said. "That's where I'm happy I gave myself a chance this week."

This was Federer's first victory on an outdoor hard court over Nadal since 2005.