Roger Federer has reached the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open by beating 30th seed Andreas Seppi 6-3 6-4 at Indian Wells.
Seppi, who caused a shock with a win over Federer at the Australian Open earlier this year, coped well in the early stages as his rival searched for rhythm from the back of the court.
Federer had two chances to break earlier in the first set, but the second seed finally made the breakthrough in the ninth game before surviving a scare of his own to take the opener.
Despite never looking at his best, Federer dictated the tempo of most rallies as a break of serve handed him a commanding lead early in the second set.
Seppi took advantage of some poor serving to break back, but Federer had the advantage a game later thanks to an unstoppable forehand winner.
After missing the chance to wrap up the win on Seppi's serve, Federer converted match point at the fourth attempt to avenge his Melbourne loss.
Callum Mulvihill
