Nadal to face Ferrer in semi-finals

KARACHI: Rafael Nadal survived a brief rain break before resuming his storied clay-court dominance with a 6-4, 6-2 quarter-final defeat of fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Monte Carlo Masters on Friday.

Second-seeded Nadal has now won 30 consecutive matches on the clay of the seaside Country Club, his last loss at the event coming in 2003.

The four-time Roland Garros winner, in search of his first ATP title since last May, will face another countyman Saturday when he plays for a finals spot against 11th seed David Ferrer Ferrer, also hailing from Spain, advanced to the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters semi-finals for the first time in seven appearances (17-6 record) on Friday, after he defeated Philipp Kohlschreiber of Germany 7-5, 7-6(1) in one hour and 48 minutes.

King of clay continues to reign supreme Nadal improved to 19-4 on clay this season. It is a crucial period for the world number three as he tries to regain his customary confidence with massive ranking point totals to defend after sweeping to clay titles in Monte Carlo, Barcelona and Rome in three consecutive weeks in 2009.