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Simona Halep fought the wind and a pesky opponent to reach the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open on Wednesday.

The world's top-ranked woman outlasted Petra Martic of Croatia 6-4, 6-7 (7), 6-3 and improved to 18-1 in matches this year.

Winds gusting to 15 mph made shots tricky. Trailing 4-2 in the first set, Martic closed to 5-4 before Halep served it out.

"I was a little bit frustrated about the game today because the wind didn't give us the rhythm," Halep said in an on-court interview. "That's maybe why I'm here, because I refuse to lose."

Martic controlled the second set, taking a 5-2 lead before Halep forced the tiebreaker. The Romanian tied it 5-all before Martic won the final two points to force a third set. Halep rallied from a 2-1 deficit to tie it 3-all before winning the last three games.

"I calmed down myself a little bit more," Halep said. "I just was more focused on what I have to do, not thinking that much about the wind and what is going on on court."

Halep next plays Naomi Osaka of Japan, who defeated No. 5 Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-3.

ESPN