Defending champion Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal set up a mouth-watering showdown in the BNP Paribas quarter-finals after they battled through tricky fourth-round encounters on Wednesday.
Federer rode his luck to scrape past fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3 6-7 7-5 while Nadal had to come from a set down to beat talented Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis 4-6 6-4 7-5.
Federer last played Nadal a year ago, also at Indian Wells, when the Swiss won their semi-final 6-3 6-4.
Third seed Andy Murray needed almost two hours to beat Carlos Berlocq of Argentina 7-6 6-4 and will next face seventh-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina, who overpowered German Tommy Haas 6-1 6-2.
Four-times Indian Wells champion Federer appeared to be in cruise control serving for the match at 5-4 in the second but was broken to love before his opponent went on to clinch the set in a tiebreak 7-4.
The players traded early breaks of serve in the third before Federer sealed the win by again breaking Wawrinka in the 12th game when his compatriot and good friend netted a forehand.