Rafael Nadal reaches Monte Carlo semi-finals but Roger Federer slips to defeat
Friday 15 April 2016 17:16, UK
Rafael Nadal secured a semi-final against Andy Murray at the Monte Carlo Masters, but Roger Federer suffered defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Second seed Murray thrashed Milos Raonic for the loss of just two games in Friday's first match, and Nadal looked set for an equally easy win when he romped through the first set against Wawrinka.
The fourth seed, who won the French Open last year, put up more of a fight in the second set, but Nadal prevailed inside an hour and 20 minutes to set up a clash with Murray.
In the other side of the quarter-final draw, third seed Federer lost his way after taking the opening set and was beaten 3-6 6-2 7-5 by Tsonga.
Once considered virtually unbeatable on clay, Nadal is searching for his ninth Monte Carlo title, having won an amazing 46 matches in a row between 2005 and 2013, when he was beaten in the final.
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The fifth seed has yet to win a tournament this year but showed signs of his best form against Wawrinka, a former Monte Carlo champion himself.
However, the Swiss player had to endure a frustrating match on this occasion, breaking his racket in annoyance at one point as the first set quickly slipped away.
Wawrinka gamely recovered from a break down in the second set but struggled to hold his own serve throughout and, having been broken once again, he put a return long on match point to send Nadal into the last four.
Both players hit 14 winners in the match but, as is often the case on his favoured surface, Nadal was far more consistent from the back of the court, tallying just 13 unforced errors compared to 29 from Wawrinka.
The Spaniard marches on to face Murray and has a 16-6 head-to-head lead over the Brit, having defeated him in the semi-finals of this event in 2009 and 2011.
However, Murray claimed his first ever clay court win over Nadal last year when he defeated him in the Madrid final.
Federer followed his compatriot Wawrinka out of the tournament as the four-time losing finalist fell short again after a loss to Tsonga.
The 34-year-old, making his comeback from injury and illness, showed signs of rust and Tsonga will next play fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils who beat Marcel Granollers.
