Intro:

Nadal and Murray ease through to the last eight of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells in straight sets

Script:

It was a cold and blustery day at Indian Wells as Rafael Nadal looked to make the last eight of the BNP Paribas Open, taking on Gilles Simon.

It was a simple match for Nadal who eased to a straight sets victory, to keep him on track for a shot at his fourth career title in the desert.

He connected on 70 per cent of his first serves, beating Simon for the seventh time in eight meetings.

The Spaniard served a love game to close out his match that began as a dust storm swirled outside the stadium under overcast skies; taking the match 6-2, 6-4.

Elsewhere, Andy Murray defeated Adrian Mannarino in striaght sets 6-3, 6-3 for his 496th career match victory.

The win means Murray draws level with compatriot Tim Henman as Britain's most successful player in the Open era.

Murray set up a quarterfinal against 12th-seeded Feliciano Lopez, who upset number five seed Kei Nishikori, 6-4, 7-6.