Paris: Novak Djokovic rallied from a set down on Thursday to beat John Isner 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-2 and reach the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters.
Djokovic next plays Stanislas Wawrinka, who stayed in contention for one of the two remaining ATP finals spots by defeating Nicolas Almagro of Spain 6-3, 6-2.
Roger Federer also moved into the quarterfinals by dismissing Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 6-3, 6-4.
Federer, who won the Paris Masters in 2011, next faces Juan Martin del Potro in a rematch of last weekend's Swiss Indoors final. The fourth-seeded Argentine overcame Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Defending champion David Ferrer also advanced, beating Gilles Simon of France 6-2, 6-3.
Isner saved six break points to force the early tiebreaker and took the first set when Djokovic's backhand sailed wide. The second-seeded Serb raised his game in the second set, making only two unforced errors and breaking Isner twice.
"I just needed to be very tough mentally and just believe I can make a break," Djokovic said. "I knew as soon as I make a break I'm going to start playing better and relaxed in a way, so that's what happened."
Djokovic then won the last five games of the match, finishing off the American with a backhand volley.
Djokovic stretched his winning streak to 14 matches after taking the China Open and the Shanghai Masters titles in October.
"In China, I have had probably the best two weeks of the year, except at the beginning of the year, so it gives me a lot of confidence," Djokovic said. "I feel that I'm back mentally where I need to be, and hopefully I can maintain this winning streak."
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