Nadal books Djokovic date

Nadal: Battered Moya

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Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will battle it out for world number two status in the semi-finals of the Hamburg Masters.

The Serb will face Nadal in the last four after a 6-2 6-3 win over Albert Montanes, while the Spaniard - who will slip out of the top two if he loses to Djokovic - easily overcame compatriot Carlos Moya 6-1 6-3.

"It may be a little more important than a normal Masters Series semi-final, but it's not very special. It's not for No 1," Nadal said. "I know very well what it's like to be No 2. I've been there a long time.

"I played a very good match against a very good player tonight and I will have to play best to win tomorrow. It's going to be very tough because he is playing with a lot of confidence."

Roger Federer is through to the semi-finals after a straight sets win over Fernando Verdasco.

Tough match

The defending champion won 6-3 6-3 and will face Andreas Seppi for a place in Sunday's final.

Federer needed only 80 minutes to beat Verdasco, who had seen off seeds David Ferrer and Mikhail Youzhny in the previous rounds.

The world number one has won this event in four of the last six years, beating clay-court king Nadal in last year's final.

"It was quite a tough match, he's a very talented player who is capable of beating any player on any surface, I had to work hard," said Federer.

"I thought he would come out and go for aces, but he hit some great shots off his back-hand."

Verdasco was competing well in the second set until he suffered an ankle injury after taking a 3-2 lead.

Federer then won the next four games to complete his victory.

Italy's Seppi reached the semis with a 6-3 5-7 7-5 win over local favourite Nicolas Kiefer, the German throwing away a 5-3 lead in the final set as Seppi hit back for a dramatic triumph.