Novak Djokovic extended his winning run by claiming a crushing 6-0 6-1 victory over Ernests Gulbis in the BNP Paribas Open.
In-form Serb sails into fourth round, Federer also shines
Novak Djokovic continued his perfect start to the 2011 season by claiming a crushing 6-0 6-1 victory over Ernests Gulbis in the BNP Paribas Open.
The Australian Open champion, who now has a record of 14-0 this year, broke his opponent's serve a total of five times to seal the win in under an hour at Indian Wells.
The Serb wasted no time taking control at the start as he dominated from behind the baseline to take the first set without dropping a game.
Djokovic then took a 3-0 lead in the second set before Gulbis finally got a game on the board to a large ovation from the crowd.
But Djokovic, who won this tournament three years ago, claimed another break before serving out the match to book his place in the fourth round.
"I am just trying to play as best as I can. I couldn't have asked for a better start to this year," the world number three said.
Unbelievable
"The last three months have been unbelievable. I'm just trying to keep this going."
Djokovic will face compatriot Viktor Troicki in the next round after the 16th seed claimed a 6-3 6-3 victory over Michael Llodra.
Three-time champion Roger Federer also eased into the last 16 as he claimed a 6-0 6-2 win over Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina.
The 16-time grand slam champion was also not tested beyond the hour mark as he rounded out the victory in 58 minutes after five breaks of serve.
"Clearly I am very happy," Federer said after the match.
"I'm a bit surprised it went this easy at the end with the scoreline. I was able to stay aggressive for the entire match. He struggled with his serve a little bit and his game fell apart."
Also on Tuesday, Andy Roddick and Ryan Harrison kept the home fires burning with respective wins over John Isner and Milos Raonic.
Roddick, the eighth seed, saw off fellow American John Isner 7-5 6-2, while world number 152 Harrison was a 7-6 (7-1) 4-6 6-4 winner against Canada's Raonic.
In other third-round action, seventh-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych easily progressed after seeing off Thomaz Bellucci 6-3 6-2.
Also safely into the next round are 12th seed Stanislas Wawrinka and 18th seed Richard Gasquet.
Wawrinka prevailed 7-5 6-3 over 17th seed Marin Cilic, while Gasquet secured an even more convincing triumph over 10th seed Jurgen Melzer, 6-1 6-3.
