Nadal, Williams Roll On in Tennis Tourney

Rafael Nadal rallied from a set down and fought off a match point in the third set to beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (8), 6-0, 7-5 Wednesday and reach the quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open in pursuit of a fourth title.

Zverev, an 18-year-old German ranked 58th in the world and in his second full year on the ATP Tour, blew a 5-2 lead in the third, when he was serving for the match leading 5-3, 40-30. He made three straight forehand errors to give Nadal the break.

"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.

Novak Djokovic beat Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-3 to stay on track for a potential semifinal against Nadal. Kei Nishikori outlasted John Isner 1-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) and next plays Nadal.

Serena Williams beat defending champion Simona Halep 6-4, 6-3, punctuating the victory with her seventh ace. Halep has lost to Williams six of the seven times they've played and has yet to successfully defend a title in her career. Halep had nine winners to 28 for Williams.

Williams advanced to the semifinals, where she will play Agnieszka Radwanska, who defeated Petra Kvitova 6-2, 7-6 (3). Radwanska will move up to No. 2 behind Williams in next week's WTA Tour rankings based on making the semis.