Rafael Nadal moves into semis
Published:Friday | October 9, 2009 | 1:03 PM
Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the China Open today by beating Marat Safin 6-3, 6-1.
Nadal outclassed the former top-ranked Russian almost from the start and remains on track to meet Novak Djokovic in Sunday\'s final. Djokovic defeated Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.
On Saturday, Nadal will face Marin Cilic of Croatia, who defeated Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 6-4, 6-4.
Djokovic will next face Robin Soderling of Sweden, who beat Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-6, 6-4.
Meanwhile, Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia became the first woman to qualify for the semifinals, beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-3, 6-3.
Kuznetsova will next face Nadia Petrova of Russia, who defeated Peng Shuai of China 6-7, 6-3, 6-2.
Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland advanced by beating fourth-seeded Elena Dementieva of Russia 7-5, 6-3.
In the semifinals, she will meet Marion Bartoli of France, who defeated Vera Zvonareva of Russia 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.