Nadal to meet Ferrer in semifinals

MONTE CARLO: Spain's Rafael Nadal survived a brief rain break before resuming his clay-court dominance defeating compatriot Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of 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 Spaniard David Ferrer, who put out German Philip Kohlschreiber.

Nadal improved to 19-4 on clay this season as he hopes for a confidence boost after claiming the last five trophies in the principality.

The match was interrupted for 50 minutes in the opening set by light rain, with Nadal not pleased to be forced off from his workplace by the weather.

Once they got back, he was back in business, setting up the opening set with a break for 5-4 and starting the second with a break which paved the way to victory. In the other quarterfinal, Ferrer broke his German opponent in the 11th game and took the set when Kohlschreiber's forehand return hit the net.

The results: At Monte Carlo (Monte Carlo Masters): Quarterfinals: David Ferrer bt Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 7-6(1); Rafael Nadal bt Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-2; Novak Djokovic bt David Nalbandian 6-2, 6-3.

At Barcelona (Barcelona Ladies Open): Semifinals: Roberta Vinci bt Alexandra Dulgheru 6-7(7), 6-1, 6-2; Francesca Schiavone bt Yaroslava Shvedova 6-1, 6-2 .