(Reuters) - Fourth seed Rafa Nadal survived a few anxious moments before booking his place in the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open with a see-sawing 6-4 6-3 victory over Japanese Kei Nishikori in California on Friday.
The Spanish left-hander fought back from 1-3 down and 15-40 on serve on the opening set, then held off a late fightback by Nishikori in the second to prevail after a little more than an hour and a half at the sun-baked Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Nadal, a three-times champion at Indian Wells, will next meet either top-seeded Serb Novak Djokovic or Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who were playing their quarter-final later on Friday.