Defending champion Ana Ivanovic reached the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open without playing, as her opponent Sybille Bammer withdrew before their match due to a left shoulder injury.
Serbian fifth seed Ivanovic will next meet Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. The Russian teenager upset seventh-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 7-6(8) 6-4 in the quarters and reached her first Sony Ericsson WTA Tour semifinal. The world No.42 Pavlyuchenkova, who had eliminated second seed Jelena Jankovic in the second round, saved two set points down 6-5 and 7-6 in the tiebreak to take the all-important opening set.
The first career meeting of Ivanovic and Pavlyuchenkova, as well as the other semifinal featuring No.4 seed Vera Zvonareva and No.8 seed Victoria Azarenka, will take place on Friday.
