Juan Martin del Potro pulled a huge upset Saturday defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the finals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
"I am playing well. The results show my level, and of course I feel some things to improve on my game like I am doing here, using the slices," del Potro said.
Del Potro was down a break in the third set, but battled back versus Djokovic hitting amazing shots during lenghty rallies as temperatures soared into the mid-90s.
"I was so close to lose because he got the chance to beat me, but I think I got lucky in very important moments, very important points when I made a fantastic winners on my forehands," del Potro said.
The Argentine will face world No. 5 Rafael Nadal in the finals Sunday. Nadal holds a 7-3 advantage in head-to-head matches, but del Potro's three victories have all come on hard courts.
In the earlier men's semifinal Saturday, Nadal defeated Tomas Berdych.
Del Potro's third career win over Djokovic ended the Serb's 22-match winning streak.
"Whenever I had chances, second, third set, I throw them away with some unforced errors," Djokovic said after the match. "My movement was poor, and I congratulate to my opponent."
The men's final will be preceded by the women's final featuring two former champions. The match will not start before 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
The women's final pits No. 3 Maria Sharapova, who won Indian Wells in 2006, against No. 10 Caroline Wozniacki, the 2011 champion.
Sharapova holds 4-2 advantage over Wozniacki in head-to-head matches, although Wozniacki won their only previous matchup in Indian Wells in 2011 semifinals.
"I have been running and grinding and playing really well this week," Wozniacki said. "I have reached a lot of balls and felt comfortable. Definitely it's a good week and a great week so far."
By reaching the Indian Wells final, Sharapova will move up one spot to become the No. 2 ranked player in the world.
"It's nice. It's better than 3, right?" Sharapova said.
The women's final will start at 12 p.m. on Sunday.
