Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer remained on course for their first head-to-head clash this year after easily winning their third round matches at the Sony Ericsson Open yesterday.

The two great rivals brushed past their opponents in straight sets to stay on track for a meeting in the semi-finals.

Nadal, the current world number one, eased past his fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-3 with a ruthless display, winning 67 percent of points on first serve and committing just a handful of unforced errors.

Federer had to work a little harder, surviving a first-set tiebreaker, but the Swiss master was able to close out the victory in one hour 44 minutes.

"It was tough playing against him," Federer told reporters.

"I thought he played well in the later stages of the first set and then also in the second...it was a good finish for me."

Nadal and Federer have not played each other since last season's ATP World Tour finals in London but will each have to win two more matches to set up their next clash.

Federer's next opponent is Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus while Nadal will meet either Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov or Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.