World No.1 Novak Djokovic powered into the semifinals of the Indian Wells ATP tournament with a commanding 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spaniard Nicolas Almagro on Thursday.
The top-seeded Serbian, champion here in 2008 and 2011, will face big-serving John Isner in the last four on Saturday, the 11th-seeded American having edged past Frenchman Gilles Simon 6-3, 1-6, 7-5 in little under two hours.
Djokovic, the hottest player in the sport for more than a year, broke Almagro twice in the opening set and again in the ninth game of the second when the Spaniard hit a backhand long. The Serb then held serve to love in the 10th, an ace putting him 40-0 up before he ended the match with a crunching backhand winner down the line after one hour and 22 minutes.
“It's definitely satisfying to play well,” Australian Open champion Djokovic said after reaching the last four for a fourth time at Indian Wells.
“It was always going to be a tough match. I had a very powerful ball striker on the opposite side of the net. He's very solid with groundstrokes and has a powerful serve, but I knew that he's inconsistent with that, so I just needed to hang in there, which I did.”
Djokovic was especially pleased with his serving after firing five aces on the hardcourt surface at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden and winning 73 percent of his second serve points.
“I served well,” said the Serb, who has won four of the last five Grand Slams to establish himself as the sport's top player.
Sania-Vesnina in final
Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina came from a set down to register a hard-fought victory over the Czech combination of Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka and enter the final of the women's doubles event.
The second seeded Indo-Russian pair took an hour and 45 minutes to get the better of the third seeds 5-7, 7-5, 10-3.
The results (BNP Paribas ATP/WTA tournament) : Men: Quarterfinals : Novak Djokovic bt Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-4; John Isner bt Gilles Simon 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.
Women: Quarterfinals : Ana Ivanovic bt Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-4; Maria Sharapova bt Maria Kirilenko 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Doubles : Semifinals : Sania Mirza & Elena Vesnina bt Andrea Hlavackova & Lucie Hradecka 5-7, 7-5, 10-3.
