Novak Djokovic takes on Richard Gasquet in the last eight of the BNP Paribas Open.
Can anyone stop Djokovic at the moment ? The Australian Open champion's form at the moment is devastating - he has not lost in 2011, his unbeaten run has stretched to 17 matches and in his past two matches in Indian Wells he has dropped just two games in total against opponent's of the quality of Viktor Troicki and Ernests Gulbis.
“I don't think I'm playing incredible tennis,” he said. “I think I'm playing really, really solid and getting a lot of balls back into the court and making my opponent play an extra shot… I think he had a very bad match in general. But I was very solid, and I keep on playing well, so this is what makes me happy.”
Djokovic will overtake Roger Federer to become world number two if he wins the tournament and few would bet against him doing just that.
Standing in his way in today's quarter-finals is the enigmatic Richard Gasquet. The Frenchman's career has been a mix of highs and lows but he's currently enjoying his best run for some time, stunning Andy Roddick 6-3, 7-6 in the last sixteen.Gasquet squandered a break in the second set but he showed a strong will to finish the job in the tiebreak.
Gasquet said afterwards he's relishing the prospect of taking on Djokovic in this form. “I played with him in practice one week ago,” he said. “He played unbelievable, too. He's a favorite of the match, for sure. I'm confident I can play a great match. I think I can play well in a big match against him. I feel confident, so I have nothing to lose. This is the best way to play a good match.”
Djokovic leads their head-to-head 3-1 and he won 6-1, 6-1 when they met in Shanghai in the autumn. Even after beating Roddick, Gasquet will do well to get a set today.
