No problem for Milos Raonic as he defeats one Spaniard at Indian Wells and will now face another - Rafael Nadal

INDIAN WELLS – There were huge first serves, one hitting 150 mph that put Milos Raonic at the top of the leader board during this BNP Paribas Open and elicited gasps and applause from the crowd.

There also were second serves that clocked in at 125 mph and 122 mph.

But above all, there were the most crisp, smoothest groundstrokes so far this week, as Raonic easily defeated No. 17 seed Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-3, 6-2 Wednesday and advanced to the quarter-finals.

It's top-of-the-line time now: Raonic's next opponent is Rafael Nadal.

Here's what Raonic had to say about his play, and about facing Nadal.

All of the players' serves have found a ittle more velocity in the desert, with the ball flying through the air more than it does at other events. And yet, Wednesday was by far the least warm, least sunny day of the tournament so far, and a lot of sand was blowing around as well.

But Raonic's serve did not discriminate. He may only have had six aces, which as always with those statistics is in part due to how well the opponent returns. But he lost just two points on his first serve.

Raonic has talked about getting his serve "figured out" after his last two victories, but it certainly seems plenty figured out; the numbers, at the very least, back up that theory.

Raonic will play Nadal on Friday; he is 0-5 against him during his career but after failing to make much of a dent in their first four meetings, he took a set off the Mallorcan the last time they met, nearly a year ago in Miami in the quarter-finals.

"So will be a very tough match. I know that. I know I need to be at my 100 per cent to have any chance, and that I gonna try," he added.