Bernard Tomic will get a strong indication of just how far he has come in 2015 when he plays world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters.
A noticeably fired-up Tomic downed compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4 4-6 6-4 in a high quality spectacle on Wednesday, setting up a clash with the Serb, a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) winner over John Isner.
Accused of appearing uninterested on occasion and inconsistent on court, Tomic has blown perceptions out of the water this year, making it to the last eight for the sixth time in seven tournaments.
He also showed plenty of emotion as he fought back from a second set malaise to take the clash from his 18 year-old compatriot on the fifth match point.
Kokkinakis is expected to move into the top 100 after making the last 16 in a tournament that is close to grand slam in quality of players.
Tomic will have his work cut out against Djokovic who is 14-2 for the year, including victory at the Australian Open.
Djokovic holds a 3-0 ATP record against Tomic, the Gold Coaster however upsetting him at the Hopman Cup back in 2013.
Regardless of the result against the eight-time grand slam winner, Tomic will be knocking on the door of his all-time high position of No.27 when the ATP rankings come out on Monday.
Djokovic had his struggles against the towering Isner on Wednesday who enjoyed home support.
“John has one of the best serves in the game,” Djokovic said.
“It was difficult to hang in there mentally.
“He had chances in the second set but I managed to get through in straight sets.”
Earlier, four-time winner Roger Federer defeated American Jack Sock 6-3 6-2 to set up a clash with Czech ninth seed Tomas Berdych, a 6-2 4-6 6-4 winner over compatriot Lukas Rosol.
Federer and Berdych have met 18 times with the Swiss holding a 12-6 lead.
World No.3 Rafael Nadal rolled over France’s Gilles Simon 6-2 6-4.
The left-handed Spaniard hammered four aces and broke Simon five times to set up a meeting with hard-hitting Milos Raonic.
“I played a solid match against a tough opponent who has good tactics,” Nadal said. “I only had two bad games with my serve.”
Raonic hammered a 241km/h serve en route to a 6-3 6-2 win over Tommy Robredo of Spain.
The Canadian hasn’t beaten Nadal in five career meetings.
He admitted Nadal could be an intimidating figure to play against.
“Rafa really puts it out there to be noticed by his opponents and to bring himself up, as well,” Raonic said.
“The last time I played him, I managed to do a better job than the previous few times, so I think I have a reference base.”
Fourth seeded Andy Murray, trying to rebound from a subpar 2014, defeated Adrian Mannarino 6-3 6-3 in the fourth round.
Murray next faces Spain’s Feliciano Lopez who upset fifth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan 6-4 7-6 (7-2).
