INDIAN WELLS, Calif., March 15 (UPI) -- Rafael Nadal, displaying the form that made him one of the sport's greats, defeated rival Roger Federer Thursday for a semifinal berth at the BNP Paribas Open.
Nadal broke Federer's serve four times and rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Nadal improved to 19-10 against Federer and moved a step closer to his third title at Indian Wells.
This was their first meeting since Federer won in a semifinal confrontation at this tournament a year ago.
Nadal will take on Tomas Berdych in the semis after Berdych got past Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4.
Berdych has played Nadal 15 times and has won just three of those matches.
The other quarterfinals will be played Friday when world No. 1 Novak Djokovic takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Andy Murray meets Juan Martin del Potro.
