Novak Djokovic continues victory march into Indian Wells semis

Novak Djokovic moved relentlessly into the Indian Wells semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Richard Gasquet yesterday, extending his perfect record this season to 16 wins.

The Australian Open champion survived early service breaks by the Frenchman in each set to seal the win in one hour 35 minutes on the showpiece stadium court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

In bright sunshine, Djokovic came from 0-3 down in the second set and capitalised on a rising tally of unforced errors by his pressurised opponent to book his place in the last four of the BNP Parisbas Open.

He will next meet either three-times champion and second seed Roger Federer or his Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka who were scheduled to play later last night.

"It's been the best period of my tennis career definitely the last three months, winning a grand slam, the Davis Cup and playing really well here on the court at Indian Wells," a smiling Djokovic said courtside.

Spanish world No 1 Rafael Nadal and Argentine Juan Martin del Potro had each booked their places in the last four in California on Thursday.