Nadal Defeats Federer to Reach BNP Paribas Open Semis
Rafael Nadal advanced to the semifinals of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., defeating defending Indian Wells champion Roger Federer 6-4, 6-2. Nadal avenged a loss in the semifinals last year to Federer and now holds a 19-10 record head to head against Federer over his career.
"I played a fantastic first set, in my opinion. The second set was strange," said Nadal. "The second set, I think Roger didn’t fight as usual. He probably had some problems and he didn’t feel enough comfortable to keep fighting. Both of us tried to play our best. I played much better than yesterday. My movements today were much, much better than yesterday, so I’m very happy for that, especially after a long match yesterday, to be able to compete well the next day."
Awaiting Nadal in the semis is world number six Tomas Berdych who was a 6-4, 6-4 winner over Kevin Anderson. Berdych has yet to drop a set during his run at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, as he broke serve in the 10th game of each set and fought off all three break points he faced. He recorded his sixth win in six meetings with the 37th-ranked Anderson.
"I feel quite well on court, and especially I would say physically, because I already played quite a lot in the past couple of weeks," said Berdych. "That’s the important sign for me, that I can be fit for the guys in the next rounds. Then I can focus on the game that I want to play and the game that is working."
Nadal is through to his eighth consecutive semifinal in Indian Wells, having won the event in 2007 and again in 2009. Berdych is through to the semifinals at Indian Wells for the first time in nine visits. Berdych is bidding for his first ATP World Tour title of the season after runner-up finishes at the Open 13 in Marseille and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
