Rafael Nadal is set to resume his quest for another Indian Wells crown in the action-packed preliminary stages of the BNP Paribas Open.

The 27-year-old Nadal punched his spot in the third round after beating Radek Stepanek in a three-set battle 2-6, 6-4, 7-5. It was indeed an acid test match for Nadal, who is coming off a clay-court tournament victory in Rio a couple of weeks ago. However, despite taking on big pressure from the Czech, the Mallorcan Bull managed to come up with huge points, and there wasn't a bigger point than his hold in the sixth game of the third set.

"It's true that with love/40, I was very close to losing, to being out, but I think I did two good serves and then I played a great point," Nadal said about his tough opening round duel with Stepanek in an interview with ATP News. "Tough one. Anything can happen, but in the end I played well. After that, I think I played better.

"I'm happy to be through, because the start of the match, even if I felt at the beginning I didn't play that bad, it was very quick 4-1 [for Stepanek], and I felt I was not playing that bad," he added.

Nadal will be taking on rising star Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine in the third round. Dolgopolov, who has emerged as a solid contender in some major tournaments for the past couple of years, arranged a showdown with the world's best tennis player after taking down Tim Smyczek of the United State 7-6, 6-4.

Meanwhile, Sharapova is looking to reach the fourth round of the Indian Wells Open, but not before playing Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi.

Sharapova advanced to the next round with a 6-1, 6-4 demolition of Germany's Julia Gorges. The Russian has had a shaky start to the 2014 season, but a solid performance on this hard court tourney would certainly boost her confidence heading into the second Grand Slam tourney of the year—the French Open.

Live Stream, TV Schedule and Scores Update

TV Coverage of Rafael Nadal vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov match will begin at 6:00 p.m EST while Maria Sharapova vs. Camila Giorgi is set on 4:00 p.m EST. Live Streaming is available on ATP World Tour or on ESPN Watch.

Live Scores and updates can be followed on Pro Tennis Live.