PHOTOS: Novak Djokovic Topples Andy Murray to Reach in Indian Wells Finals

Novak Djokovic surged into the finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, continuing a recent run of dominance over rival Andy Murray.

The World No. 1 beat No. 4 Murray for ninth time in ten matches, 6-2, 6-3 on Saturday. Murray’s only win in that span came at the 2013 Wimbledon final.

“I was expecting a battle,” Djokovic said. “It always is with Andy, but today I guess he wasn’t as close as where he wanted to be high quality. He made a lot of unforced errors and I just tried to hang in there get some free points on first serves and just play technically right.”

The Serb raced out to an early 3-0 lead in the first set, before Murray finally held serve. That ended a streak of 12 straight games that Djokovic won over Murray going back to their Australian Open final at the beginning of the season.

​”Look, in Australia I felt like I was extremely close,” Murray said. “I didn’t feel like the difference was necessarily in the level of the tennis.”

The Serb said he while he will watch the second semifinal, he has other priorities that require his attention.

“The biggest commitment is my boy, so I’m going back home to spend some time with him. I’ll watch of course but my team will watch more than I do,” Djokovic said.

Djokovic will look to become the first men’s player to win back-to-back titles at Indian Wells since Roger Federer won three straight BNP Paribas Open titles from 2004-2006.