World number one Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded Andy Murray each had to contend with different degrees of adversity before they advanced to the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Djokovic, the top seed in the elite ATP Masters 1000 event, was broken twice in his opening set against Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas before advancing 7-5 6-3 in an evening match lasting just under an hour and a half.

“I managed to play the right shot at the right time in the important moments,” said Djokovic, who is bidding for a fourth title at Indian Wells.

“And I managed to sneak through in straight sets.”

Scottish world number four Murray recovered from a surprising second-set lapse during the searing heat of the afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden to beat German Phillipp Kohl-schreiber 6-1 3-6 6-1.

However, Spanish eighth seed David Ferrer made an early exit, ousted 7-5 6-4 by Australian Bernard Tomic in the third round.

Djokovic won a topsy-turvy opening set that featured five service breaks. The Serb failed to hold in the first game before breaking back in the sixth and eighth, but was surprisingly broken again in the ninth when serving for the set at 5-3.

Though Ramos-Vinolas fought back to level at 5-5, Djokovic held to love before breaking the Spanish left-hander again in the 12th, the set ending after 49 minutes when his opponent netted a backhand.

The second set went with serve until a protracted eighth game which the Serb won when Ramos-Vinolas blasted a low forehand wide, then served out to love in the ninth to seal victory.

Djokovic will next face big-serving American John Isner, who powered past South African Kevin Anderson 7-6 6-2.

Wozniacki beaten

In the women’s tournament, Caroline Wozniacki became the biggest name to fall on Monday when the fourth seed was ousted 6-4 6-4 by Swiss teen Belinda Bencic.

Second seed Maria Sharapova won an absorbing baseline battle with Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-3 while Eugenie Bouchard demolished CoCo Vandeweghe 6-3 6-2.

Wozniacki had overwhelmed Bencic 6-0 6-0 in their only previous meeting in Istanbul last year but it was a very different story at the California desert venue as the Dane struggled for consistency.

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