Swiss superstar Roger Federer kept his quest alive for his second consecutive Indian Wells title by beating Ivan Ljubicic in a battle of the two hottest players on the ATP Tour.
Top seed Federer won 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/4) on Wednesday to reach the quarterfinals and has not dropped a set so far in the US$4.8 million WTA and ATP Masters Series tournament.
"I am so motivated for this tournament," Federer said. "I really want to defend this title."
Federer already has three titles (Doha, Rotterdam, Dubai) this year with wins over Ljubicic in all three finals. He has won six of seven tournaments he has entered since the start of the US Open.
"I am able to dig much deeper than I used to. To be down a set doesn't bother me like it used to," Federer said.
Federer's victory sets up a marquee quarterfinal at the California desert event featuring six players seeded in the top 10.
Second seed Lleyton Hewitt and third seed Andy Roddick and No. 6 Tim Henman also won their fourth-round matches on Wednesday.
"The best are through and that is just the way it is," Federer said. "It is going to get interesting from here."
Ljubicic, who had not dropped a set in the event heading into the Federer match, still leads the ATP Tour with 24 wins this year, compared to 23 for Federer.
Federer produced 30 winners and 13 unforced errors while Ljubicic had 24 winners and 16 unforced errors in the one hour, 48 minute evening match.
Federer won 89 percent (41/46) of his first serves and 83 of 149 total points in front of a crowd of about 5,000 at center court.
There was just one break-point chance in the match in the second game of the second set with Ljubicic serving and down 30-40. Federer missed the return to get to deuce and then Ljubicic closed out the game with an ace to make it 1-1.
Clijsters, Dementieva through
In the women's draw, fourth seed Elena Dementieva reached the semis with a come-from-behind win over Svetlana Kuznetsova in an all-Russian rematch of the 2004 US Open final.
The 23-year-old Dementieva won 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in her third consecutive three-setter.
Dementieva, the only woman to reach two Grand Slam singles finals last year, is going through a transitional period with her game, seeking to improve on a subpar serve that has been her undoing on big points in the past.
US Open champion Kuznetsova double faulted in the final game to give Dementieva three match points.
Kim Clijsters booked her spot in the other semifinal by weathering a one-set blip in beating Spain's Conchita Martinez 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. She will play either Maria Sharapova or Mary Pierce.
Eight-time major winner Andre Agassi was relentless in beating Guillermo Coria 6-4, 6-1, ousting the Argentinian clay-court specialist for the second consecutive year.
Agassi beat Coria in straight sets in the quarterfinals here last year.
Australian second seed Hewitt pummelled Paul-Henri Mathieu, of France, 6-1, 6-0 to remain on track for his third Indian Wells title and former US Open winner Roddick, of the US, breezed past Chile's Fernando Gonzalez 6-4, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals.
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