INDIAN WELLS (California), March 10: Rafael Nadal, playing on a hard court for the first time in almost a year, defeated Ryan Harrison 7-6, 6-2 in a second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open on Saturday.

Nadal, a two-time champion at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, had missed seven months because of a left knee injury and hadn’t played on a hard court since March 29, 2012.

The Spanish star returned to the ATP Tour a month ago and played three tournaments on clay, winning two of those and saying his knee felt better each week.

He did not appear to be in any discomfort after being sidelined for seven months last year and he dominated the second set before wrapping up victory in just over an hour and a half.

“I am satisfied to be in the next round,” said the Spanish left-hander who has enjoyed a successful tournament run on clay in recent weeks, winning two ATP titles after reaching three finals. “That’s the most important thing.

“Two weeks ago, I didn’t really know if I would be playing here, so I am happy to be here. I feel fine. My physical performance needs to improve. My movements need to improve.”

Nadal moved closer to a projected quarter-final match-up with old foe Roger Federer, the defending champion who cruised into the third round with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Uzbekistan’s Denis Istomin. Federer wrapped up the match in 57 minutes and did not face a break point.

The Swiss great, seeded second behind world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, is seeking a first tournament triumph of 2013 after being denied title repeats at Rotterdam and Dubai.

Federer said he would not be surprised to see Nadal across the net in the quarter-finals. “Him not having played, for me, doesn’t make any difference, really. I still expect him to be really difficult and tough to beat here.”

Nadal’s fellow Spaniard David Ferrer became the first major casualty of the tournament when he was beaten 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 by 37th-ranked South African Kevin Anderson and it took Lleyton Hewitt 2 hours and 23 minutes to upset No 15 seed John Isner 6-7, 6-3, 6-4.

Women’s top seed and defending champion Victoria Azarenka survived a shaky start to make it safely into the third round with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over two-time former champion Daniela Hantuchova.

Azarenka, unbeaten in 2013 and winner of the Australian Open and the WTA event in Doha, fell behind 4-1 in the first set, but surrendered just one game in the next 12.

“First round matches are never easy and Daniela is such a great player,” Azarenka said courtside at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. “She started really well. It was my first match after a while, so it’s always a little bit tricky.

Urszula Radwanska upset No 15 seed Sloane Stephens of the U.S., 6-3, 6-4 while seventh seed Samantha Stosur earned a 6-3, 6-4 win over American wild card Madison Keys.

Fourth-seeded Angelique Kerber defeated Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-3, 6-2, and tenth seed Nadia Petrova of Russia beat Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland 6-2, 6-3.

Results (prefix number denotes seeding): Men’s singles: Second round: 6-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) bt Mischa Zverev (Germany) 6-2, 6-4; 5-Rafa Nadal (Spain) bt Ryan Harrison (US) 7-6 (7-3), 6-2; Ernests Gulbis (Latvia) bt 9-Janko Tipsarevic (Serbia) 6-2, 6-0; 27-Florian Mayer (Germany) bt David Goffin (Belgium) 6-4, 6-2; 10-Richard Gasquet (France) bt Bernard Tomic (Australia) 7-6 (7-1), 6-2; 20-Andreas Seppi (Italy) bt Daniel Brands (Germany) 7-5, 6-4; Ivan Dodig (Croatia) bt 28-Julien Benneteau (France) 6-4, 6-2; 2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt Denis Istomin (Uzbekistan) 6-2, 6-3; 13-Gilles Simon (France) bt Paolo Lorenzi (Italy) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; 24-Jerzy Janowicz (Poland) bt David Nalbandian (Argentina) 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-3; Lleyton Hewitt (Australia) bt 15-John Isner (US) 6-7 (6-8), 6-3, 6-4; Leonardo Mayer (Argentina) bt 30-Mikhail Youzhny (Russia) 6-2, 6-3; Kevin Anderson (South Africa) bt 4-David Ferrer (Spain) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; 18-Stanislas Wawrinka (Switzerland) bt Wayne Odesnik (US) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1; Jarkko Nieminen (Finland) bt 29-Fernando Verdasco (Spain) 6-1, 6-0; Benoit Paire (France) bt 21-Philipp Kohlschreiber (Germany) 6-4, 6-2.

Women’s singles: Second round: Urszula Radwanska (Poland) bt 15-Sloane Stephens (US) 6-3, 6-4; 8-Caroline Wozniacki (Denmark) bt Alize Cornet (France) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3; 1-Victoria Azarenka (Belarus) bt Daniela Hantuchova (Slovakia) 6-4, 6-1; 24-Mona Barthel (Germany) bt Kiki Bertens (Netherlands) 6-1, 6-4; 29-Elena Vesnina (Russia) bt Kimiko Date-Krumm (Japan) 3-6, 7-5, 6-1; 11-Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) bt Taylor Townsend (US) 6-1, 6-2; Magdalena Rybarikova (Slovakia) bt 16-Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) 6-2, 4-6, 6-2; Garbine Muguruza Blanco (Spain) bt 17-Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) 6-3, 1-6, 6-4; 28-Kirsten Flipkens (Belgium) bt Monica Niculescu (Romania) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3; 10-Nadia Petrova (Russia) bt Stefanie Voegele (Switzerland) 6-2, 6-3; 21-Julia Goerges (Germany) bt Sofia Arvidsson (Sweden) 6-3, 6-3; 4-Angelique Kerber (Germany) bt Irina Begu (Romania) 6-3, 6-2; 30-Yanina Wickmayer (Belgium) bt Mirjana Lucic-Baroni (Croatia) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2; 32-Peng Shuai (China) bt Alexandra Dulgheru (Romania) 6-0, 4-6, 6-3; 7-Samantha Stosur (Australia) bt Madison Keys (US) 6-3, 6-4; Jamie Hampton (US) bt 20-Hsieh Su-Wei (Taiwan) 6-3, 6-3.—Agencies