Defending champion Rafael Nadal defeated Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-6 (4) Thursday to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in his first tournament since returning from a six-week injury layoff. Nadal used every inch of the court in beating Berdych for the sixth consecutive time. He mixed topspin with power off the forehand side, slipped in drop shots, and painted the corners with smashes. “I'm playing a big forehand from baseline and going inside the court, being more aggressive,” he said. Nadal won the final three points of the tiebreaker that ended with Berdych netting a backhand. The Spaniard leaped for joy, trading the snarl he wore through most of the match for a smile. Jelena Jankovic rallied from a 2-4 second-set deficit to beat Russia's Alisa Kleybanova 6-4, 6-4 and reach the women's semifinals. Jankovic won the final four games of the match, twice breaking Kleybanova, to extend her best showing of the year. Jankovic made the semifinals at Indian Wells in 2008, and went on to finish the year ranked No. 1 in the world. But she struggled last year, prompting changes. She's pared down her playing schedule, lost weight, and dropped her coach earlier this month. At the start of the two-week event, the locker room was so crowded Jankovic could barely set her racket bag down. She arrived Thursday and found plenty of room. “I like that feeling,” she said. “I want to be at the end of the tournament where there's no one.” In the semifinals, Jankovic will play Australian Samantha Stosur, a 6-3, 7-6 (9) winner over Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of Spain. Their match ended awkwardly when Stosur challenged Sanchez's serve that had been called good. Sanchez thought Stosur was questioning the Aussie's return, and believed her challenge request wasn't made in time. “She thought maybe it was a first serve or she got confused about something, but I wanted to challenge the serve and the serve was out, so it's a second serve,” Stosur said. “It's a little bit more big a deal because it was match point.” Sanchez was also confused about the score in the tiebreaker. “I was disappointed,” she said. “I don't know what happened.” Stosur has yet to drop a set in four matches, and is projected to crack the top 10 for the first time in the WTA Tour rankings. No. 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark and fifth-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland, who also hasn't dropped a set, will meet in the other semifinal. Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia gave himself an early birthday present by defeating Juan Monaco of Argentina 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, setting up a semifinal against Nadal. Ljubicic turns 31 Friday.
