World number one Novak Djokovic beat no.18 seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3 on Wednesday to reach his ninth BNP Paribas Open quarter-final.
The 28-year-old Serbian star, who has won four times in Indian Wells, looked sharp right from the start. He broke Lopez three times from six opportunities, having denied his rival a single break point chance during the 65-minute clash.
Djokovic won 83 per cent of first-serve points and was 9/13 on net approaches.
“I’m glad to have a match like this, without many complications,” Novak said. “I managed to step in and return very well…even though Feliciano is a very difficult player to play against. He’s left handed and he has a big first serve and he can hit angles, comes to the net. He’s very strong and moves well. But I was very solid. I didn’t allow him to come to the net too many times. It was a good performance.”
Match statistics: aces (3-5), double faults (1-0), winners (16-22), unforced errors (15-23).
Novak will face no.7 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday for a place in the last four.
The defending champion and top seed is 14-6 lifetime against the Frenchman.
Photo: Getty Images
