Rafa Nadal has moved a step closer to winning a third clay-court title in under a month in Madrid.
World number one maintains remarkable run in Spanish capital
World number one Rafa Nadal moved a step closer to winning a third clay-court title in under a month as he reached the Madrid Open semi-finals.
The 24-year-old Spaniard overpowered Frenchman Michael Llodra on Friday, winning 6-2 6-2 at the Magic Box arena to retain hope of defending his title.
Nadal is in top form having recorded back-to-back victories at the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open in April.
His victory over the unseeded Llodra was his 36th straight success on his favourite surface since falling to Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the French Open in 2009.
Nadal, who reclaimed the title at Roland Garros last year, will face Roger Federer in the semi-finals after the Swiss saw off Soderling 7-6 6-4.
Federer earned the only break of the match, taking a 5-4 lead on a volley winner and serving out the victory after one and a three-quarter hours.
"It will be a great match for both of us," said Federer, whose only two clay wins over his rival came in the Spanish capital and in the Hamburg final of 2007.
"It's in his home country and another meeting here. It will be exciting, I'm looking forward to it. He's playing amazing and I'll be giving it my best shot. I hope to make a good match of it and hopefully get the win."
Upset
Seventh seed Tomas Berdych suffered an upset in the opening quarter-final when he was beaten 7-6 6-3 by unseeded Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.
The world number 36, who ousted Andy Murray in the previous round, will now play second seed Novak Djokovic for a place in Sunday's final.
"I was losing some matches and wasn't playing very well but yesterday I played my best tennis and today I had a lot of confidence on the court," he said.
"I have got even more confidence for tomorrow's match. I've got to face the match shot after shot and ball after ball so if I continue down this path I think I'm going to do well. I think I can beat any player."
Djokovic extended his unbeaten run this year to 30 matches with a hard-fought 6-4 4-6 6-3 triumph against sixth seed David Ferrer.
The Spaniard had won all three of their previous meetings on clay and he came as close as any to inflicting a first defeat on the Serbian in 2011.
He broke early in the second set to take the match to a decider, which was delicately poised until Djokovic stepped up a gear to reel off the last three games.
He earned three match points on the Ferrer serve and he clinched victory at the first attempt when his opponent sent a forehand wide.
