Federer-Nadal showdown

Indian Wells (IANS): Top-ranked Novak Djokovic reached the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday, beating Sam Querrey 6-0, 7-6 (6) in a match that began four hours late after a marathon day.A Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal ended the run of Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis with a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory that set up a quarterfinal against defending champion Roger Federer, who survived a three-set marathon of his own, beating 18th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7 (4), 7-5.

Djokovic was brutally efficient in the first set after walking unsmiling onto the court as the remaining fans made their way from the stadium's upper reaches to the lower bowl. Querrey, who will take over as the top-ranked American in the next ATP tour rankings, fought back in the second set.A Djokovic held at 6-all to force the tiebreaker, in which he took a 5-1 lead. Querrey rallied again to tie it at 6-all on a forehand crosscourt winner as some fans yawned.

But then Querrey committed two straight errors to end the 1-hour, 25-minute match.A Sharapova defeated sixth-seeded Sara Errani 7-6 (6), 6-2 to reach the women's semifinals without dropping a set.