The world number one, who beat Spain's Rafael Nadal in last year's final, Novak Djokovic took both his break-point opportunities in a tight first set and stormed into the fourth round at Indian Wells. Meanwhile, Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish were knocked out. Djokovic defeated Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-3 on Monday, March 12^th at the BNP Paribas Open. He broke once in the second to secure victory in one hour and 37 minutes. "It was a very close match. The scoreline does not reflect how close it was," said the 24-year-old.

Djokovic is aiming for a third career title at the BNP Paribas Open, as he won at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in 2008 and last year during a season when he claimed three Grand Slam titles. "This is one of my most successful tournaments. I love coming back to the desert," added the Serb.

Andy Roddick's poor run against top-10 ranked players continued when he was beaten 6-3 4-6 6-2 by seventh seed Tomas Berdych. It was the American's 13th defeat in 14 games against the better players in the world. More, Australian qualifier Matthew Ebden knocked out Mardy Fish 6-3 6-4, while American 11th seed John Isner beat Argentina's Juan Monaco 7-5 7-5 and 13th seed Gilles Simon , from France, saw off Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 6-4.

In the women's third round, Russia's Nadia Petrova pulled off a shock with a 6-1 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) win over Australian sixth seed Sam Stosur.

Denmark's defending champion Caroline Wozniacki came from one set down to beat Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson 3-6 7-5 6-2 and set up a fourth-round match against Ana Ivanovic, who beat Ksenia Pervak 6-7 (8-10) 6-3 6-2.

Wozniacki said: "I've known Sophia since I was 12 or 13 and we know each other's games so well. She just came out from a win in Memphis and I knew she was on fire. I'm so happy with this win."

Number two seed Maria Sharapova eased past Simona Halep of Romania 6-3 6-4 in their first meeting but Francesca Schiavone became the eighth player to pull out after contracting the virus illness that is sweeping the Coachella Valley.

Italian Schiavone retired after losing the first set 6-2 to Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic.

Seventh seed Marion Bartoli needed only 71 minutes to dispatch South Africa's Chanelle Scheepers 6-2 6-0, while there were also wins for Maria Kirilenko and Roberta Vinci.

The 2012 Indian Wells champion will receive $1 million.