Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic advanced to the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open, while Serena Williams won to advance to the semifinals. Williams defeated Simona Halep to move forward, while Nadal rallied back from a one-set deficit to win.
Nadal had some trouble against Alexander Zverev in the match, dropping the first set before rallying to win the next two to take the match 6-7 (8), 6-0, 7-5. Zverev had the chance to serve for the match, but he could not close things out against Nadal. Djokovic had an easier time in his match, advancing 6-3, 6-3 over Feliciano Lopez.
"I am especially happy about the mentality on court, the spirit of fight during the whole match, believing that I can win a match during the whole time, even in the tougher situations," Nadal said.
Williams won over Halep 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the semifinals. Williams had a strong match with her serve and now has won all but one of the seven matches against Halep. The American star is set to play against Agnieszka Radwanska, who advanced over Petra Kvitova to make it into the semifinals. Other results of the day saw Milos Raonic win over Tomas Berdych, while David Goffin upset Stan Wawrinka.
Earlier in the tournament, Djokovic had to rally back from a deficit to advance. Djokovic dropped the first set against qualifier Bjorn Fratangelo, but he rallied to win that match 2-6, 6-1, 6-2. The Serbian star had a tough time getting into a rhythm against the 149th-ranked Fratangelo, who won the first four games of the first set to put the Serbian on the defensive.
Djokovic rallied back over the final two sets, dropping just three games the rest of the match to advance. The number one-ranked Djokovic only has one loss on tour this season and is looking to win his third straight tournament at Indian Wells.
Williams started off her tournament a bit shaky, but she has started to get into her groove after winning against Halep. In her first match, Williams sprayed balls all over the court while racking up nearly 30 unforced errors. Williams closed out the match by winning the final five points in the second set. The top-ranked star was able to settle in after the first set tiebreaker, dropping just six points during the duration with just four errors. Now Williams has the chance to get to the finals.
