Andy Murray has had his share of shockers at Indian Wells over the past few years, but last night he produced an almost flawless performance as he reached the last four of the BNP Paribas Open for the first time since 2009.

Murray's 6-3, 6-4 win over Feliciano Lopez extended his record against the Spaniard to 10 wins out of 10 and earned him a clash with world No 1 Novak Djokovic, a repeat of this year's Australian Open Final.

Having disposed of Vasek Pospisil, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Adrian Mannarino to reach the quarter-finals, Murray moved up a few levels as he crushed Lopez with a performance made all the better considering a gusting wind.

Lopez had beaten Kei Nishikori in the previous round and is at a career-high ranking of 12 but Murray set the tone with a perfect opening game including two superb drop shots.

His serve was a weapon - including his second serve, which is not always the case - and his passing shots were at their clinical best.

His only blip came when he was broken when trying to serve out the match at 5-2 in the second set but after missing a match point in the next game, he served out to love second time around to clinch his place in the semi-finals.

"It was a good match in difficult conditions against a tough opponent," Murray said.

"I thought the best part of my game was that I passed very well today. That was very important because it stopped him from feeling comfortable up at the net, so he spent a little more time at the back of the court and I was able to dictate a few more of the points that way."

With his wedding to Kim Sears taking place three weeks tomorrow - Murray admitted he keeps track of dates by tennis tournaments - the Scot could easily have been distracted, particularly after his efforts in Indian Wells in the past few years.

But he has looked focused, relaxed and sharp and he never allowed Lopez the chance to use his own weapons.

His coach, Amelie Mauresmo, back alongside him after missing events in Rotterdam and Dubai, liked what she saw and Murray said his game had come on enormously since she joined his team last summer.

"I think I've got my level back close to where it was before I had my back surgery," he said.

"That was something I was certainly struggling with before I started working with her, my game was nowhere near where I wanted it to be.

"I got back to doing a lot of the things I was doing well before the surgery, playing a little bit closer to the baseline, I feel like I'm hitting my groundstrokes cleaner because of that, I'm able to dictate more points, and then it gives me the opportunity, when I have the chance, to come forward and finish a few more points at the net.

"Obviously when you're playing further behind the baseline it takes a lot longer to get to the net and easier for my opponents to pass, so I've been taking time away from the opponent a little bit better."

Djokovic, who advanced to the semi-finals when Australia's Bernard Tomic withdrew citing a back injury, will be a far stiffer task but Murray said he was excited at the prospect of another battle.

"You can't afford to have any part of your game not working well against him so I'll need to play extremely well," he said.

"He'll be fresh with a couple of days rest, so it'll be a tough one but one that I'm looking forward to and I'm pleased I've been able to play a good tournament here in Indian Wells again, because it's been a while."