Djokovic squeaks through against Kohlschreiber

Second seed Novak Djokovic saved three match points before scraping past Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 2-6 7-6 in the third round of the Indian Wells ATP tournament.

Trailing 4-5 and 0-40 in the 10th game of the final set, Djokovic took advantage of a spate of unforced errors by his opponent to claw back from the brink of defeat.

The Serbian world number two won that game when Kohlschreiber netted a forehand and went to clinch the tiebreak 7-3 as the German's resistance crumbled.

Djokovic, who appeared to be in total control after sweeping through the opening set in 41 minutes and leading 2-0 in the second, let out a loud yell of relief after sealing victory with a forehand winner.

The Serb, champion here in 2008 and a losing finalist to Spaniard Rafa Nadal in 2007, will next meet either 20th-seeded Croat Ivan Ljubicic or Argentine qualifier Brian Dabul.

Kohlschreiber, who beat Djokovic in straight sets when the pair last met at the 2009 French Open, took the second set after winning six games in a row on a sun-splashed afternoon in the California desert.

He went on to break Djokovic in the second game of the third set and immediately held serve to lead 3-0.

In a match of bizarre shifts in momentum, the Serb saved two break points in the next game and broke his opponent in the fifth and seventh to edge ahead 4-3 before he lost serve in the eighth.

Djokovic appeared to be on his way out when he hit a forehand long to trail 0-40 in the 10th game but he won the next three points courtesy of a forehand smash at the net and successive backhand errors by Kohlschreiber.

He managed to hold serve and maintained winning momentum after the wildly fluctuating set went into a tiebreak.

Earlier, 21st seed Juan Monaco of Argentina upset 11th-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-6 3-6 6-3.

- Reuters