• Indian Wells

Federer notches up 50th Indian Wells win

Roger Federer made light work of Jack Sock as he chases his fifth BNP Paribas Open title © AP

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Roger Federer dominated Jack Sock in a 6-3 6-2 victory to reach the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open and claim his 50th match win at Indian Wells.

Federer, the four-time tournament champion, has not dropped a set in his opening three matches, needing just 69 minutes to polish off the American, winning 14 consecutive points in the second set.

"Today was by far my best match, so I'm very happy how I was serving, in particular, when it was important," Federer said. "On the return I was able to play both with the slice coming over and then even standing back. All three things worked. When that's the case, it's great as a player to know you have all these options when it comes down to the crunch."

Sock had one highlight game, holding serve at 2-2 in the first set after facing two break points and nine deuces. But Federer won four of the next five games to wrap up the set.

"Obviously I needed to serve very well, if not my best, to give me a chance," Sock said. "He's done this many times and makes you play a lot of balls."

Federer broke Sock to open the second set, launching a run of 14 straight points that gave the Swiss star a 4-0 lead before Sock fought off three more break points to trail 4-1. Federer lost just two points in his last two service games, and will face Tomas Berdych in the last eight.

Novak Djokovic defeated John Isner 6-4 7-6(5) in pursuit of his fourth career title in the desert.

The world No.1 raced through the first set in 30 minutes, then rallied to get into a tiebreaker against the big-serving American. All eight of their meetings have included at least one tie-break.

"It says how close it was," said Djokovic who faces Bernard Tomic in the quarters. "It was very difficult to hang in there mentally. He had his chances in the second set. He can be a dangerous player on any surface, so I'm just pleased with this match."

Rafael Nadal advanced with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Gilles Simon to stay on track for a shot at his fourth career title in the Californian desert.

The Spaniard next plays sixth-seeded Milos Raonic, who defeated Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-2 in their fourth-round match.

Nadal served a love game to close out a match that began as a dust storm swirled outside the stadium under overcast skies. He connected on 70 percent of his first serves in beating Simon for the seventh time in eight meetings.

"He's a player that is tough, because sometimes you feel that you have the match under control, but he's able to be back," Nadal said. "He's able to play very well in defending positions, and then from defending position, he's able to come back and have the control of the point. Is a good victory for me."

Three of Raonic's four losses this year have come against top-10 opposition, and the Canadian will get another shot at one in third-ranked Nadal.

"Things are going well," Raonic said. "I'm returning, getting myself in a lot of points, returning deep, and giving myself a lot of looks. As the match is going on, I'm getting better, so that's a good sign."

Andy Murray defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-3 for his 496th career match victory, drawing level with countryman Tim Henman's record as Britain's most successful player in the Open era.

Murray set up a quarter-final against 12th seed Feliciano Lopez, who upset No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori 6-4 7-6(2) to reach the quarter-finals at Indian Wells for the first time in 13 attempts.

"I really had one bad game at 5-4," Nishikori said. "Until then I was playing better. I was dominating the strokes. He was hitting good serves, but I had all the chances."

Murray broke Mannarino twice in the second set and closed it out on his second match point when Mannarino netted a backhand. Murray remains on track for a potential semifinal against Djokovic, who beat the Brit in the Australian Open final in January.

"I made it difficult for my opponents in all of my matches. That's important," Murray said. "I haven't given up too many free points. I have been hitting the ball quite heavy from the back of the court, so it's not been easy for my opponents to attack, which has been good."

World No. 9 Tomas Berdych made the quarter-finals with a 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory over Czech compatriot Lukas Rosol. Berdych hasn't lost to a fellow countryman in nine years.

In the day's all-Australian affair, Bernard Tomic beat wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4 4-6 6-4.

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