Defending champion Roger Federer and world No.3 Andy Murray have advanced to the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells Masters.
Federer, seeded second behind Novak Djokovic and chasing his first title since Cincinnati last August, battled past fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3 6-7 (4-7) 7-5, while Murray prevailed 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 over unseeded Argentine Carlos Berlocq.
Federer, who could get a quarter-final clash with his great rival Rafael Nadal, improved to 13-1 against Wawrinka, but had to labour for two hours and 20 minutes to do so.
Serving for the match at 5-4 in the second set, he was broken at love. Unable to convert two break points in the following game, he surrendered the set on a tiebreaker when he double-faulted on set point.
Wawrinka then gained the upper hand with a break in the third set, but Federer, owner of 17 grand slam titles, broke back in the next game and earned the decisive break in the final game as Wawrinka smacked a volley into the net.
“I definitely got a bit lucky out here tonight,” Federer said. “Stan’s an amazing player and a good friend – I’m happy to get through.”
Murray, the reigning US Open champion and London Olympic gold medallist, next faces seventh-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina or German veteran Tommy Haas.
Eighth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga also reached the quarter-finals with a three-set victory over Milos Raonic in a rematch of their record-breaking Olympic tussle.
Tsonga needed one hour and 54 minutes to get past the Canadian 4-6 7-5 6-4, moving through when Raonic, known for his booming serve, delivered a double-fault on the first match point.
The two met in the first round at the London Olympics, with Tsonga winning 6-3 3-6 25-23 – the third set the longest recorded in Games history.
Tsonga will face world No.1 Novak Djokovic or American Sam Querrey in the quarter-finals of the combined ATP Masters and WTA tournament.
Querrey is the last man to beat the Serbian star – back on October 31 at the Paris Masters.
Since then, Djokovic has put together a 20-match winning streak and won a fourth Australian Open crown as well as the ATP title in Dubai.
South Africa’s Kevin Anderson was the first man to punch his quarter-final ticket, scoring a 6-3 1-6 6-4 victory over 13th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon.
Anderson will face sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych, who beat 10th-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet 6-1 7-5.