Streaking Djokovic Reaches Indian Wells Semis

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Streaking Djokovic Reaches Indian Wells Semis

By Chris Oddo

(March 15, 2013) -- The fact that Novak Djokovic caught Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on a bad day probably didn't have much to do with today's outcome against the Frenchman. Djokovic had already beaten Tsonga seven straight times coming in, but Tsonga's lack of "sensations" did allow Djokovic to get off the court in a mere 54 minutes with a breezy 6-3, 6-1 win.

That's always a good thing when you're the World No. 1 and everybody's gunning to take you down.

"He made a lot of double faults, unforced errors, so I was just trying to get one more ball than him over the net, and it worked well," Djokovic said after his 6-3, 6-1 walk in the park.

The Serb, who became just the 10th player since 1975 to win 20 or more matches consecutively more than once earlier this week (Roger Federer has done it seven times), stretched his current winning streak to 22 with the win.

Read: Nadal dismisses Federer at Indian Wells

He was nearly perfect on serve, losing only five points all day on his serve and hammering eight aces, and he was typically lethal on return, too.

The same couldn't be said for the Frenchman. Tsonga's normally dominant service game reaped only 25 out of 50 points, and while he saved five break points on the day, he was broken another four times, which was more than enough to put Djokovic in cruise control mode for most of the match.

"He loves the big stage," said Djokovic. "So I didn't want to give him an opportunity to come back to the match."

Maybe it was the sweltering conditions, maybe it was the blinding sun. For whatever reason, Tsonga lacked the energy that he usually brings to big matches such as this. "I did a lot of mistakes," A somber Tsonga told reporters afterwards. "I don't know how to explain it but it was a day for me without sensation. Everything I tried to do, I missed."

Djokovic, who has now broken his opponents in 17 of 39 games at Indian Wells, will prepare for a semifinal with surprise winner Juan Martin del Potro on Saturday.

Del Potro overcame an early deficit to defeat Andy Murray 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1.

The 7th seed broke Murray four times in the final two sets, including three times on six opportunities in the decider to win against the Scotsman for just the second time in seven career battles. Del Potro saved the only two break points he faced to notch his first top five win of 2013.

With the loss, Murray missed out on a chance to claim the No. 2 ranking away from From Roger Federer at Indian Wells. A run to the finals would have allowed him to pass Roger Federer, who lost in last night's quarterfinal to Rafael Nadal.

But with Federer's absence from the Miami draw this year, Murray will have another shot before the clay court season begins.

Meanwhile, Del Potro will be bidding to reach his first BNP Paribas Open final when he takes on Djokovic in one of Saturdays' semifinals. He also reached the semis at Indian Wells in 2011, only to lose to Rafael Nadal,. 6-4, 6-4. The Argentine owns a 2-8 record against Djokovic and has lost four straight against him since defeating in the bronze medal match at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

(Photo Credit: AP)