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’s bid to win his first ATP World Tour-level title of the year remains alive as the Spaniard advances into the Round of 16 of Indian Wells in California to face Germany’s Alexander Zverev.

Nadal had to survive a wild tiebreaker to overcome compatriot Fernando Verdasco in their Round of 32 clash at Indian Wells 6-0 7-6(9). The three-time Indian Wells champion avenged his stunning loss suffered against Verdasco at the Australian open in January as he continues his pursuit to regain his old form in the first ATP 1000 Masters event of the year.

"Feel lucky to win the tiebreak, and at the same time I think at the end of the tiebreak I played well with not many mistakes and going for the points," Nadal said, reports ESPN. "In this kind of match I have more to lose than him, so he's able to play very aggressive.”

Nadal now faces an unlikely opponent in Zverev, whom Nadal has never faced in his entire career. The 18-year-old defeated French Gilles Simon in the third round of Indian Wells in straight sets 6-2 6-2. The winner between the 14-time Grand Slam winner and one of the most exciting prospects in the sport could face either American John Isner or Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the other half of the bracket.

Ninth seed Isner defeated France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-4 7-6(4), while world No. 6 Nishikori dug deep to fend off USA’s Steve Johnson 7-6(6) 7-6(5).

"Everyone knows I can do that," Isner said, reports Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times. "It's the other areas of my game I need to shore up."

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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