Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal advanced to the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open, joining Andy Murray in the last eight, though Kei Nishikori crashed out.

Federer dispatched American Jack Sock in a 6-3 6-2 victory while Nadal beat Gilles Simon 6-2 6-4.

Nadal captured his opening set quite easily, but fell behind 2-0 in the second set before rebounding with an accurate serve to beat Simon for the seventh time in eight meetings.

“After playing a bad game with my serve I was able to be completely focused and mentally ready to be back and ready for the next game,” Nadal told reporters.

“I was there mentally waiting for the opportunity. Lucky I played a good few points in that game to have the break back.”

Murray reached the quarter-finals with a landmark win over Adrian Mannarino, while Spain’s Feliciano Lopez upset Nishikori.

Murray’s 6-3 6-3 victory over Frenchman Mannarino put him level with Tim Henman as Britain’s most successful men’s player in the Open era on 496 singles victories.

“I thought I played well. It was a tricky match,” said Murray, who added that his 38th-ranked opponent’s low crosscourt backhand and short, flat forehand can be deceptive. “I thought I did a good job against a tough opponent.”

Murray will next face 33-year-old Lopez, who has reached his top ranking of 12th in the world.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams took one step closer to a capping a remarkable return to Indian Wells after defeating Timea Bacsinszky 7-5 6-3 to move into the semi-finals of the tournament.

Williams is playing in Indian Wells following a 14-year boycott of the event where she alleged she had suffered racist abuse from fans.

Williams extended her winning streak to 15 matches and will next face Romania’s world number three Simona Halep, who is the last player to have beaten her at the season-ending WTA Championships in Singapore last October.

Halep turned up the aggression and rallied for a 5-7 6-1 6-1 victory over Carla Suarez Navarro to claim the first women’s semi-finals berth.

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