Federer dealt well with cooler, windier conditions to close out Sock in one hour and nine minutes.
"Today was by far my best match, so I'm very happy how I was serving, in particular, when it was important," Federer said. "On the return I was able to play both with the slice coming over and then even standing back. All three things worked. When that's the case, it's great as a player to know you have all these options when it comes down to the crunch."
Sock had one highlight game, holding serve at 2-2 in the first set after facing two break points and nine deuces. But Federer won four of the next five games to wrap up the set.
"Obviously I needed to serve very well, if not my best, to give me a chance," Sock said. "He's done this many times and makes you play a lot of balls."
Federer broke Sock to open the second set, launching a run of 14 straight points that gave the Swiss star a 4-0 lead before Sock fought off three more break points to trail 4-1. Federer lost just two points in his last two service games.
In his 15 appearances in Indian Wells, the Swiss has a tournament-high four titles to his name. He’ll need to defeat Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals to set a potential semi-final clash with rival Rafael Nadal.
"We have played on many occasions over many years," said Federer, who owns a 12-6 ATP Head to Head record over Berdych. "I don't know when we played the very first time, but I have seen his game evolve, seen how he established himself in the Top 10.
"I think he does very well, and probably also with a new team now he feels eager to try out new things and maybe gives him extra energy. So I think it's going to be an interesting matchup for him having a new team in the back."
Earlier on Wednesday, Berdych bested countryman Lukas Rosol 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in a tense battle on Stadium 2.
Date: 19th March 2015, Source: ATP and ESPN UK
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