Indian Wells: Djokovic beats Nadal, Raonic awaits

Novak Djokovic has defeated Rafael Nadal to seal a place in his third straight Indian Wells final.

The world No.1 and two-time defending champ overcame Nadal in a tough first set on Saturday to move to a 7-6(5) 6-2 victory.

Novak: 23 winners vs. 29 UFEs
Rafa: 12 winners vs 26 UFEs

Remarkably, Djokovic has won 13 straight sets vs. Nadal. #BNPPO16

— TennisNow (@Tennis_Now) March 19, 2016

#Nadal plays 93 points on serve to 60 for #Djokovic. That makes for an uneven match any way you slice it. #BNPPO16

— Craig O'Shannessy (@BrainGameTennis) March 19, 2016

The Serb will meet Canadian 12th seed Milos Raonic, who advanced to the BNP Paribas Open final earlier on Saturday with a three-set triumph over David Goffin of Belgium.

Djokovic is 5-0 vs. Raonic, 7-0 in Indian Wells/Miami finals since 2011, 11-0 in Masters 1000 finals vs. non-Big Four opponents. #BNPPO16

— Chris Skelton (@ChrisSkelton87) March 19, 2016

Having now won his past six meetings with the Spaniard, Djokovic extends his lead in their career series to 25-23.

.@DjokerNole is appearing in his 10th straight #ATP Masters 1000 final (DNP '15 Madrid) going back to '14 @bnppmasters (7-2 record).#BNPPO

— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) March 19, 2016

Novak Djokovic is now *one* win away from equaling Nadal's record of 27 titles in ATP Masters 1000.

— Gaspar Ribeiro Lança (@gasparlanca) March 19, 2016

In the first semifinal, Raonic fired 10 aces on his way to a 6-3 3-6 6-3 win over Goffin.

Raonic improved to a career-best 14-1 this year after blitzing his smaller opponent, connecting on 63 per cent of his first serves in the two-hour match.