Novak Djokovic avenged his only loss of 2016 with a ruthless 6-3 6-3 victory over Feliciano Lopez as the Serbian top seed eased into the quarter-finals of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday night.
An eye issue forced Djokovic to retire against his Spanish opponent at the Dubai Duty Free Championships last month but he had his sights set firmly on victory for their rematch in California.
The world number one needed just 66 minutes to prevail as he won 75 per cent of his points on serve and broke Lopez three times.
“I have respect for his game, which definitely made me very cautious of approaching this match and made me very determined to impose my game plan from the very beginning,” Djokovic told reporters.
“I was very solid. I didn’t allow him to come to the net too many times. It was a good performance.”
Djokovic enjoyed his best performance of the tournament to date and next meets Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who defeated Dominic Thiem 6-3 6-2, as the defending champion seeks an unprecedented fifth title at Indian Wells.
Earlier in the day, third seed Stan Wawrinka was sent packing in the fourth round and the Swiss was very nearly joined by Rafa Nadal, who pulled off a Houdini-like escape to reach the last eight.
Fourth seed Nadal rallied from 5-2 down in the final set, saving a match point on the way, before battling past 18-year-old German prospect Alexandr Zverev 6-7(8) 6-0 7-5.
The power-hitting Zverev had been bidding to become the youngest quarter-finalist at the event since 1989 and led 40-30 when serving for the match in the ninth game but his nerve deserted him at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Wawrinka was ousted by Belgian David Goffin, who sealed a 6-3 5-7 7-6(5) victory when his Swiss opponent netted a forehand in a closely contested tiebreak after a wildly fluctuating match that lasted nearly two-and-a-half hours.
A dominant Serena Williams proved far too strong for defending champion Simona Halep as the American eased into the semi-finals with a 6-4 6-3 victory.
The world number one has yet to drop a set in four matches in California, and Williams made a tricky opponent on paper look completely over-matched in the quarter-final encounter.
The 21-time grand slam champion blasted 28 winners to Halep’s nine.
Third seed Agnieska Radwanska stands between Williams and a spot in the final, after the Pole fought back from 5-2 down in the second set on the way to a 6-2 7-6(3) victory over world number nine Petra Kvitova, of the Czech Republic.
Novak Djokovic eased past Feliciano Lopez at Indian Wells.