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World number one Rafa Nadal saved five match points before beating David Nalbandian 3-6 7-6 6-0 in a classic fourth-round encounter at Indian Wells.

In a match which finished past 2 am, Argentine Nalbandian had four match points at 5-3 in the second set and another on his own serve at 5-4.

But Nadal showed amazing resilience to break back and then snatch the set on a tie-break, before ripping through the decider for his first win over Nalbandian in three attempts.

The top seed will now meet another Argentine, Juan Martin Del Potro, for a place in the last four.

Roger Federer also battled into the quarter-finals with a 6-3 5-7 6-2 victory over Fernando Gonzalez of Chile.

The world number two raised his game when he needed to as he came through his first real test of the week, setting up a clash with 10th seed Fernando Verdasco.

Defending champion Novak Djokovic came through another tight encounter, beating Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 7-6.

"I enjoy playing Fernando because it's so tactical," Federer said. "But then at the same time it's so brutal, so aggressive. You think you have a slight chance to win the point, and then you realise, no, there's actually none."

Federer cruised through the first set but Gonzalez, unleashing a series of spectacular forehand winners, broke in the 12th game of the second set to force a decider.

Federer then hit another gear, breaking in the third game of the third set and then again in the seventh before serving out for victory.

The Swiss has won both his previous matches with Verdasco, but the Spaniard looked in good form in beating Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-4 3-6 6-1.

"I'm looking forward to playing more baseline rallies against Verdasco," Federer said.

"I'm sure that's going to happen. It's a good thing that I'm still in the tournament and facing an opponent who actually is going to extend the rallies a little bit. It's going to be a nice match, I'm sure."

Wawrinka had a set-point in the second set that would have taken his match to a decider, but third seed Djokovic saved it and now plays Andy Roddick, who battled past Spain's David Ferrer 7-6 3-6 6-3.

Croat Ivan Ljubicic saved five match points before beating Russian Igor Andreev 4-6 7-6 7-6, and will now face fourth seed Andy Murray, who progressed when Tommy Robredo retired with a wrist injury

Quarter final

Mar 19
Time Match
21:00 Ljubicic I. v Murray A.
03:30 Verdasco F. v Federer R.

Man... Nadal is a monster! He's so fucking persistent and swings like a mofo!!

And he's a Real Madrid fan!

I'm actually a Djokovic fan. And I also think Federer is a pussy, great swing and back-hand, but he doesn't bother running the court.

Rafael eased past Argentina's Juan Del Potro to earn a semi-final match against in-form Andy Roddick at ATP Indian Wells.

Nadal, champion here in 2007 and the top seed after winning three of the last four Grand Slam titles, broke sixth-seeded Del Potro four times to wrap up victory in one hour 49 minutes.

The Spanish left-hander was delighted to triumph in straight sets after saving five match points before beating David Nalbandian 3-6 7-6 6-0 in the fourth round two days earlier.

"I'm happy," Nadal said after hitting 25 winners against Del Potro. "I won against the number six in the world. 6-2 6-4 is a very good result.

"I happy about the beginning, the first set and then leading 2-0 but later I stop a little bit. I played bad against David but today I go on court with more clear ideas. I am playing well."

Big-serving American Roddick hammered an out-of-sorts Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-2 to earn his semi-final spot against the world number one.

On a hot afternoon in the California desert, seventh seed Roddick swept through the opening set with two breaks in just over half an hour on the stadium court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The second set went with serve until the error-prone Djokovic netted a backhand to be broken in the sixth game and trail 2-4.

World number seven Roddick then held serve before again breaking the Serb in the eighth to reach the semi-finals at Indian Wells for a third time.

Djokovic, who beat American Mardy Fish in last year's final, had not dropped a set during the tournament until being taken apart by Roddick in one hour, eight minutes.

"I don't think he had his best day by any means," Roddick said after extending his win-loss record this season to 23-3. "That obviously helps right away.

"I mixed up the pace pretty well and the chip was a pretty good neutralising shot for me. I was hitting it pretty firm and I didn't really miss any returns. I thought I played pretty well."

Djokovic rued one of the worst performances of his career after slipping to his third defeat by Roddick in five meetings.

"There's not much to say," the Serb said after piling up 30 unforced errors and three double faults. "He played very solid. He didn't do anything special.

"It was all me making an incredible amount of unforced errors. This was one of the worst matches I have played."

"It's just one of those days when you really don't feel comfortable on the court," added Djokovic, who had been bidding to reach the last four for a third consecutive year at Indian Wells.

"I just didn't have any momentum. No feel for the ball, no movement, no solutions."

Mar 21
Semi Final
21:00 Roger Federer v Andrew Murray
23:00 Andy Roddick v Rafael Nadal

I'm a Murray fan. He plays spin and he's smart. I loved him more when he played against Rafael Nadal here in Abu Dhabi. Brilliant game!

World number one Rafael Nadal will have to reverse a two-match losing streak against Britain's Andy Murray if he is to clinch his 12th Masters Series title.

Although the Spanish left-hander leads Murray 5-2 in career meetings, the Scot won their semi-final encounter at the US Open in September and the Rotterdam final earlier this year.

The pair advanced to the final of the ATP event at Indian Wells with contrasting victories on Saturday, Nadal holding off a late challenge by American Andy Roddick to win 6-4 7-6 after Murray had beaten an error-prone Roger Federer 6-3 4-6 6-1.

Mar 22
Final
22:00 Nadal R. v Murray A.

I love Murray, cant wait for today's showdown, should be awesome!

are u losers talking about cricket?