Serbia's Novak Djokovic extended his 2011 unbeaten run to 22 matches as the second seed blew past South African outsider Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-2 Wednesday into the semi-finals at the Miami Masters.
Mardy Fish will take over the top spot in the US tennis men's pecking order Monday, when he moves ahead of longtime elite Andy Roddick after his quarter-final victory against Spanish sixth seed David Ferrer, 7-5, 6-2.
Serb Djokovic is on the prowl for his fourth trophy of the season after winning the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells this month.
He claimed the Miami hard-court title in 2007 and finished runner-up two years later.
The number two is thick into the fight to surpass Rafael Nadal on the top ATP ranking after overhauling Roger Federer on second with the Indian Wells title.
Clijsters ousted
In the women's field, 2009 champion Victoria Azarenka beat fatigued second seed Kim Clijsters 6-3, 6-3 to line up in the semis against Russian number three Vera Zvonareva, a winner over Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska 7-5, 6-3.
Australian Open champion Clijsters, who staged a late-night great escape 24 hours earlier against Ana Ivanovic, was unable to repeat her miracle.
{{/usCountry}}Australian Open champion Clijsters, who staged a late-night great escape 24 hours earlier against Ana Ivanovic, was unable to repeat her miracle.
{{/usCountry}}"Tonight was going to be very tough, obviously, I just didn't feel good out there," Clijsters said. "Mentally, physically, it didn't feel right. Mentally I didn't feel like I had any fighting spirit. "It's tough against someone like her. Against some lower-ranked players maybe it's possible to get through matches, but not against somebody like her."