World No.18 Maria Sharapova has reached her fourth semifinal in her nine appearances at the Indian Wells tournament. The victory in the quarters didn't come easy, though. The 16th-seeded Russian swept through the first set and made a 2-0 lead in the second, but then her level dropped, she double-faulted seven times and Peng Shuai leveled the match. Sharapova managed to recover and won 6-2 5-7 6-3 after two hours and 22 minutes.

The 2006 Indian Wells champion Sharapova will play last year's runner-up, top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki, in the final four. Wozniacki entered the semifinals in a considerably easier way, having played just three games against good friend Victoria Azarenka.

The other semifinal of the $4.5 million BNP Paribas Open will feature Yanina Wickmayer and Marion Bartoli. (photo: © Neal Trousdale)

Quarterfinals of Indian Wells featured a clash between good friends Caroline Wozniacki and Victoria Azarenka, but before the coin toss preceding the match, the two players wanted to show their support for Japan, which has been devastated by the tremendous earthquake and its aftereffects. Wozniacki's manager went two-hour drive away to get the Japanese flag, and the WTA stars meticulously wrote the following message on it: "Our Thoughts Are With You" and "Caroline & Victoria". Their action caused a moment of silence on the court.

Let's talk about the actual match now. Unfortunately, there's not much to say, as Azarenka retired after just three games because of a left hip injury. "I took a ball on the run and slid a little bit, and that's when I felt the pain. It's just bad luck but I have some time to recover before Miami, so hopefully it won't be too serious," said the eighth-seeded Azarenka. World No.1 and top seed Wozniacki will play either Maria Sharapova or Peng Shuai in the semifinals.

Additional info: Here you can read reactions of Kimiko Date Krum, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova and other WTA players about the catastrophe that has hit Japan. (source: WTA Tour)

The quarterfinal encounter of 2008 Indian Wells champion Ana Ivanovic and Marion Bartoli featured 13 breaks of serve in two sets that together lasted more than two hours. The 19th-seeded Ivanovic was desperately fighting, while for the most part of the match seed No.15 Bartoli had a small but valuable advantage. Something was constantly missing in Ivanovic's game and Bartoli moved into the semifinals of the high-profile BNP Paribas Open with a 6-4 7-6(4) victory.

In a slow set full of breaks, at 5-4 Bartoli was serving to win it, and even though Ivanovic earned two break opportunities to level the score, Bartoli prevailed. The second set also started better for Bartoli, but Ivanovic was constantly fighting, leveling, and even led 5-4 for a short time. Bartoli was later serving for the match at 6-5, and even though Ivanovic forced a tiebreak, her troubles were cut short in that set and Bartoli made her way into the semifinals.

It will be Bartoli's third semifinal of the season, after Brisbane and Doha. A semifinalist in Indian Wells earns $150,000. The 17th-ranked Frenchwoman will play either Shahar Peer or Yanina Wickmayer for a place in the title match. (photo: angelicalbite)

The WTA Tour interviewed a lot of players about their favorite songs at the moment and they got very colorful answers. From Shahar Peer who doesn't listen to music, Kim Clijsters who is "getting older" and listens to the same CDs over and over again, doubles partners Flavia Pennetta and Gisela Dulko who not surprisingly love the same song, JJ who has no idea, but later admits she's haunted by Katy Perry's "Fireworks", and the others who listen from U2, Mark Ronson and Celine Dion to the latest Lady Gaga and Rihanna hits.

Check out the fun video yourself:

Dinara Safina's joy was short-lived, as her inspiring win over Samantha Stosur was followed by a 6-2 6-0 blowout by Maria Sharapova in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open. In the Russian battle of former No.1s, Sharapova gave no chances to Safina with her precise, powerful and aggressive display. Fellow blogger Forty Deuce, who is at the tournament, says that Safina was often left frozen on the court and that everything besides Sharapova's serve was reminiscent of the Australian Open 2008 Sharapova. Next for Masha will be Peng Shuai.

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki was made to work against Alisa Kleybanova in the fourth round, before prevailing 2-6 6-3 6-1 in one hour and 55 minutes. Wozniacki's quarterfinal opponent will be good friend Victoria Azarenka, seeded 8th. Azarenka saved four match points to battle past Agnieszka Radwanska 4-6 6-3 7-6(3) after three hours and four minutes. (photo: Tidalist)

In the encounter of two Serbian players and former No.1s, Ana Ivanovic eliminated defending champion Jelena Jankovic 6-4 6-2 in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open. Ivanovic, who won the tournament in 2008, having defeated Jankovic in the semifinals, has now extended her career record against the compatriot to 7-3.

Sixth-seeded Jankovic, who defeated current world No.1 Caroline Wozniacki to win the Indian Wells title last year, converted only one of seven break opportunities and after the match, the 26-year-old said how she felt flat, how her feet were not moving and her best game was not there. Ivanovic, on the other hand, was solid and took advantage of Jankovic’s weaknesses.

Quarterfinal opponent of the nineteenth-seeded Ivanovic will be Marion Bartoli. The Frenchwoman advanced when Kim Clijsters retired from their fourth-round encounter with a shoulder injury, despite winning the first set. Clijsters has been taking painkillers for the shoulder problem since before she won the 2011 Australian Open.

Here's how concerned Clijsters is about the injury: "On hard courts I know that I am able to control it. I'm concerned for what's coming up next, and that's the claycourt season." (photo via WTA Tour)

World No.108 Dinara Safina hadn't been able to win three matches in a row in more than a year (she rarely even won two) and now she scored her first Top 4 victory since 2008 by upsetting fourth seed Samantha Stosur in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open.

Despite 16 double faults, Safina's performance was strong, with powerful groundstrokes, successful aggressiveness and big returns. The Russian swept through the first set tiebreaker 7-2 and resisted a late Stosur's fightback in the second set to win 7-6(2) 6-4.

Safina's fourth round opponent will be No.18 seed Maria Sharapova, who is also coming back from injury. Sharapova had survived a marathon opener against Anabel Medina Garrigues, but cruised past seed No.20 Aravane Rezai 6-2 6-2 in the third round.

The Safina vs. Sharapova match will not be the only fourth round meeting between compatriots and former world No.1s. Serbs Jelena Jankovic, who is defending her title at Indian Wells, and Ana Ivanovic will also face each other. (photo: Forty Deuce)

World No.1 and last year's runner-up Caroline Wozniacki cruised to the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells by defeating Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez for the first time in their four meetings. In the 6-1 6-3 victory over the Spaniard, Wozniacki was just as dominant as in her opening match of the tournament, against Sloane Stephens in the second round.

Throughout the 71-minute match, the Stella McCartney-clad Dane held her serve and made no double faults, while she broke the 28th-seeded Martinez Sanchez four times.

Wozniacki's next opponent will be seed No.22 Alisa Kleybanova, who defeated 13th seed Flavia Pennetta 6-3 6-4 in the third round.

Additional info: Adidas has just launched the start of a new global  campaign which for the first time in their history showcases adidas' involvement in sport, music and fashion. Here's a very short teaser, featuring Wozniacki. If you would like to see the full video featuring Wozniacki a day early then check it out on facebook.com/adidas tomorrow (15th March). (photo via Tennis Served Fresh)

World No.1 Caroline Wozniacki premiered adidas by Stella McCartney Tennis Ruffle Dress in her opening match at Indian Wells. The dress was first showcased as early as during the London Fashion Week last year.

Color palette is pretty much similar to last year's Tennis Performance Dress which came in dark gray and white, as Tennis Ruffle Dress exists in blueprint and white. Wozniacki is supposed to wear the blueprint dress at the French Open, while the white version is planned for Wimbledon. Read more »

Jelena Jankovic started her title defense well, with a dominant 6-2 6-1 victory over American Coco Vandeweghe. The sixth-seeded Jankovic faced no break points during the entire match, while she broke the error-prone teenager, who was making her debut in the Indian Wells main draw, twice in the first set and three times in the second set.

Next for Jankovic is Julia Goerges, seeded No.32. If Jankovic wins that match and Ana Ivanovic wins in the third round against Barbora Zahlavova Strycova, the two Serbs will have an encounter in the fourth round.

All the players that advanced to the third round are known now and most seeded players are through, including Kim Clijsters, Vera Zvonareva and Francesca Schiavone. Only seed No.12 Petra Kvitova and seed No.30 Tsvetana Pironkova lost in the second round on Friday. Kvitova was defeated by Zahlavova Strycova, while Pironkova fell to qualifier Alize Cornet. (photo: Johan Rivera)