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Agnieszka Radwanska has to work for berth in semifinals

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Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska made it to the semifinals Wednesday in the women’s draw of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament at Indian Wells.

Halep’s journey was much shorter.

The 22-year-old Romanian, already winner of $711,430 this season with a title in Doha, Qatar, went past Casey Dellacqua of Australia, 6-2, 6-2. Dellacqua had advanced to the quarterfinals when her opponent, American Lauren Davis, had to withdraw because of a stomach ailment.

“I was moving very well today,” said Halep, who said her biggest goal was to win the French Open. “I was more relaxed than yesterday.”

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Radwanska, a 25-year-old from Poland who is seeded second here, won the first set over former Indian Wells champion Jelena Jankovic of Serbia, 7-5, but lost the second, 6-2. She turned it around in the third and was leading, 4-0, when Jankovic made a comeback.

Jankovic was on serve at 4-5 of the third and got the game to 40-15, but then made four consecutive errors, including a double fault, and Radwanska prevailed, 6-4, in the third.

Halep beat Radwanska in Doha in the semifinals this year.

Thursday’s other half of the draw will have quarterfinal matches between Flavia Pennetta and Sloane Stevens and top-seeded Li Na and Dominika Cibulkova.

Collins honored

Legendary tennis journalist Bud Collins was given the annual Alan King Tennis Passion Award on Wednesday on court at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Collins, who is 84 and has been in ill health the last year, spent his career for the Boston Globe and NBC television, writing about the sport and becoming as big a celebrity as many of the players he interviewed.

bill.dwyre@latimes.com

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