On his return to hard court, world No. 5 Rafael Nadal advanced to the finals of the 2013 BNP Paribas Open with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 6 Tomas Berdych.
Nadal, a two-time former champion at Indian Wells, advanced through to his fourth finals appearance.
Berdych had a chance to serve for the second set up 5-3, but Nadal fought back earning a back with a couple great shots.
"I play my best game of the match in the 5-3, playing very aggressive, having two very, very good points with my forehand down the line," Nadal said.
The Spaniard will play his first hard court final in 11 months against the winner of the second men's semifinal between No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro.
"You need to compete to feel quick, to recover the right vision of the points and the nice reaction in every moment. Everything is new," Nadal said.
The former World No. 1 player missed seven months of tennis at the end of last season and the start of 2103 due to a partially torn tendon in his left knee.
"I'm doing probably one of my best two tournaments since seven months," Nadal joked after the match.
"Coming back is certainly something amazing for me, totally unexpected, and I received more support than ever from the crowd everyplace that I played," Nadal said. "That's always a very, very special feeling. Thank you very much, all the people."
Nadal is currently on a 13-match winning streak, and boosts a 16-1 record on the season.
"[Nadal] still play very aggressive, and what he was missing in his first matches when he come back after the injury or the time that he hasn't been on tour then, looks that he was maybe missing a bit of confidence in his game, but definitely not today," Berdych said after the match.
Nadal's path through to the finals started with an opening win over Ryan Harrison followed by a walkover versus Leonardo Mayer. The Mallorcan beat qualifier Ernests Gulbis in three-sets and easily defeated rival Roger Federer to make his eighth straight BNP Paribas Open semifinal.
"I feel like home. I feel very comfortable in this tournament," Nadal said. "I feel very happy when I am here. Is more relaxing tournament than other ones, and probably that's give me a positive feeling."
