Novak Djokovic extended his perfect record this season to 17-0 with a thrilling 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over three-time champion Roger Federer on Saturday to reach the BNP Paribas Open final in Indian Wells, California.

Red-hot Djokovic, who will replace Swiss Federer as world No. 2 when the new rankings are issued today, broke his opponent three times in a third set of brilliant shot-making to triumph in just over two hours.

The 23-year-old Serb will face top seed Rafael Nadal for the title, the Spanish left-hander having come from 1-4 down to power past former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina 6-4, 6-4 in Saturday's first semifinal.

Nadal, covering the court with lightning speed, broke del Potro's serve three times in a high-quality encounter to win in one hour 51 minutes.

"That was the biggest test of the tournament for me today," Australian Open champion Djokovic said courtside after sealing victory when a Federer backhand service return flew long. "Any time I play Roger, it's a big challenge.

"I didn't really pay too much attention on who is favorite or No. 1, No. 2 in the rankings. I just wanted to take that match as another big challenge. It was very good."

Djokovic, roared on by flag-waving Serbian fans, felt the fifth game of the third set, when he came from 15-40 down on Federer's serve to win 11 points in a row, had paved the way for his third successive victory over the Swiss this year.

"It was a very close match up to the last point and you really couldn't say who's gonna take the win," the Serbian world No. 3 said. "That fifth game was crucial."

"I had my chances today in the singles," Federer said several hours later after he and fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka were beaten 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-10 in the men's doubles final by Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov and Belgian Xavier Malisse.

"I wasn't far away at all today, because I really had him going but I guess he escaped. Confidence is a big thing for him at the moment."

On the women's side, Denmark's top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki was playing 15th-seeded Marion Bartoli of France in the final.

Sania Mirza of India and Russian Elena Vesnina defeated eighth-seeded Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Meghann Shaughnessy 6-0, 7-5 to win the women's doubles title in their third tournament together.