Nadal sweeps into finals

Rafael Nadal rallied to beat Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., on Saturday and reach his fourth ATP Tour final in as many events.

Off to the best start of his career, Nadal improved to 16-1 — including 13 wins in a row — on the year, having won two clay-court titles and been runner-up in another since returning from a left knee injury that idled him for seven months.

“It’s very, very difficult to imagine something like this,” said Nadal, who beat No. 2 Roger Federer in straight sets in the quarterfinals.

Nadal will play either top-ranked Novak Djokovic or No. 7 seed Juan Martin del Potro, who met in the other semi, in today’s final. No. 2 seed Maria Sharapova and No. 8 Caroline Wozniacki will play for the women’s title today. Both won late Friday night.

“He looks strong again,” Berdych said of Nadal, whose leg is taped just below his left knee.