JOIN USDefending champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal set up a mouth-watering showdown in the BNP Paribas quarterfinals after they battled through tricky fourth-round encounters on Wednesday.
Federer rode his luck to scrape past fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 6-7, 7-5 while Nadal had to come from a set down to beat talented Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis 4-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Australian Open champion and top seed Novak Djokovic advanced with a 6-0, 7-6 victory over American Sam Querrey.
Third seed Andy Murray beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 7-6, 6-4 and will next face seventh-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, who overpowered German Tommy Haas 6-1, 6-2.
Kvitova sent packing
Erratic serving cost Petra Kvitova dearly as the fifth-seeded Czech was knocked out by Russian Maria Kirilenko on Wednesday, losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.
Kirilenko will next meet 2006 champion Maria Sharapova, who overcame sixth-seeded Italian Sara Errani 7-6, 6-2.
Left-hander Kvitova double-faulted 13 times during an error-strewn encounter which ended after almost two-and-a-half hours when the 2011 Wimbledon champion sent a forehand long on a steaming hot afternoon at the Indian Wells.
Kirilenko, who won her sixth WTA singles title at Pattaya City last month, squealed in delight while pumping her fists in celebration after extending her unbeaten record this year in three-set matches to 6-0.
Sharapova, the second-seeded Russian scraped past Errani in a tight opening set, clinching the tie-break 8-6, but stormed through the second as she broke her opponent three times.