Djokovic, Nadal reach Indian Wells final

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INDIAN WELLS, California, Mar 20 (AFP): Serbia's Novak Djokovic continued his blistering pace this season by beating Roger Federer to reach the Indian Wells final and supercede the Swiss star as world No. 2. Djokovic reached the final of the $4.5 million ATP Masters 1000 event by defeating Federer 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to extend his match winning streak this season to 17. "I am playing the best tennis of my life," Djokovic said. "This was one of my biggest tests. Anytime I play Roger it is a big challenge." Djokovic, who won here in 2008, won 11 consecutive points in the third set to break open the match and post his third victory over 16-time major winner Federer in the past three months. Djokovic moves to Sunday's final, where he will face world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who beat Juan Martin del Potro 6-4, 6-4 earlier in the day. Federer is now 18-3 on the season with all three defeats coming at the hands of Djokovic, who clinched Saturday's victory on the second match point when the Swiss fired a forehand service return long. With the win, Djokovic moved into the second ranking spot, dropping Federer to third. Djokovic, 23, hammered three aces in the two-hour, six-minute match in front of a near-capacity crowd of about 15,000 on the main stadium court. The turning point in the match was when Djokovic blitzed Federer for 11 consecutive points in the middle of the third set to turn a 2-2 deadlock into a 5-2 lead. Djokovic broke Federer's serve three times in the final set after Federer won the second set.