Novak Djokovic overcame Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-2) in 2 hours and 6 minutes to set up a blockbuster semifinal at the BNP Paribas Masters 1000 Tournament in Indian Wells.
Djokovic had a win-loss record of 14-6 in his previous head-to-head matches against Tsonga who has lost to Djokovic in 13 of their 14 matches but scored his last win against the Serbian star in the third round of the Toronto Masters 1000 Tournament in 2014. Djokovic won their last match last autumn in the final of the Shanghai Masters 1000.
Tsonga reached the quarter finals without dropping a single set in the whole tournament and beat Dominic Thiem in the third round.
Djokovic broke serve in the third game to take a 2-1 lead with a lob. Tsonga rallied from 15-40 down to save a double break point at 4-2 with four winners.
Djokovic could not close out the first set when he served at 5-4 as Tsonga rallied from 0-30 down to break back in the 10th game to draw level to 5-5. In the 11th game Tsonga saved two break points with two winners.
Tsonga was just two points from clinching the first set at 0-30 but Djokovic bounced back and capitalized on a series of errors from the French player. Djokovic got an early mini-break and pulled away to 6-1 as Tsonga made two forehand errors. Djokovic closed out the first set with 7-2 at the tie-break. Tsonga made 16 unforced errors in the first set, including two at 1-1 when he dropped his serve.
Tsonga got an early break in the third game of the second set to take a 2-1 lead as Djokovic made two double faults but the Serb broke straight back by winning four consecutive points to draw level to 2-2.
Tsonga saved two match points with forehand winners in the 10th game as Djokovic was leading 5-4 on Tsonga’s serve. Tsonga hit a big serve to draw level to 5-5. The Frenchman held serve with a forehand winner and a serve to force the second set to the tie-break. In the breaker Djokovic raced to a 6-2 lead. He closed out with his second serve which Tsonga returned wide to seal the win in the second tie-break.
Djokovic dropped just one set in this tournament in his opening match against US player Bjorn Fratangelo.
Djokovic is bidding to win his third title of the season after beating Nadal in the Doha final and Andy Murray in the Australian Open title match. He lost his only match of the season in the Dubai quarter finals when he was forced to withdraw due to an eye infection.
Djokovic will face Nadal for the 48th time. Djokovic leads 24-23 in their head-to-head matches and won 9 of 10 clashes. Nadal scored his last win against Djokovic in the 2014 Roland Garros final. They will meet for the fourth time at Indian Wells. Nadal beat Djokovic in the 2007 final but Djokovic prevailed in the 2008 semifinals and in the 2011 final. Djokovic won four Indian Wells titles in 2008, 2011, 2014 and 2015.
