Djokovic breezes into semi-finals

Defending champion Novak Djokovic moved through to the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells last night with a 6-2 6-3 win over South African Kevin Anderson.

Djokovic, seeking a third career title at the tournament, seized both his break-point opportunities in a tight first set and gained a solitary break in the second before serving out for victory in one hour and 37 minutes.

Also in early men's third-round action, 11th seed John Isner beat 22nd seed Juan Monaco 7-5 7-5, and 13th seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon got the better of Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 6-4.

In the women's third round, Russia's Nadia Petrova, seeded 30, pulled off a shock 6-1 6-7 (6/8) 7-6 (7/5) win over Australian sixth seed Sam Stosur.

Seventh seed Marion Bartoli needed only 71 minutes to dispatch South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers 6-2 6-0, while there were also wins for Maria Kirilenko, Roberta Vinci and Lucie Safarova.