Tennis: Nadal's right at home as hot streak continues

Rafael Nadal cruised into the Barcelona Open semifinals by dispatching Gael Monfils 6-2 6-2 while David Ferrer moved a step closer to another clay-court final against his fellow Spaniard.

The top-ranked Nadal needed only 75 minutes to get past the ninth-ranked Frenchman, who was broken four times.

"The truth is it was a pretty complete game," said Nadal, who is 29-1 at the clay court tournament, which he is bidding to win for a sixth time.

"I'm very happy since this is a match between two of the best players in the world and to win 6-2 6-2 makes me very happy."

Nadal rallied from 40-0 down in the third game to convert his first break point with a forehand winner. Nadal extended his lead to 4-1 when Monfils netted a backhand to be broken again, and Nadal held serve to take the first set.

The second set was a near replica of the first as Nadal broke Monfils in the third and fifth games again. Monfils hit wide to trail 2-1 and then sent a forehand long after a net exchange to be broken for the fourth time. Nadal held serve to close out the match and set up a match against Ivan Dodig of Croatia, who outlasted Spain's Feliciano Lopez 6-4 2-6 6-4.

"This is super positive," said Nadal, who is coming off his seventh straight Monte Carlos Masters title and improved to 30-0 on clay since 2010. "But there's still much to achieve."

Ferrer, who lost to Nadal in the Monte Carlo final on Sunday, aimed at his fourth title match of the year by dismissing Jurgen Melzer 6-3 6-3. Melzer slammed his racket into the red dirt after netting to allow a set point for Ferrer, who converted it when the Austrian sent a shot long. Melzer's frustration carried over into the second set as he slapped a backhand wide to be broken in the first game. But Melzer - who beat Roger Federer in Monte Carlo - broke back to even it at 1-1.

Ferrer needed treatment on his left calf but shrugged off the twinge to reach his fifth semifinal of the season after breaking for 4-3. The sixth-ranked Ferrer sealed the victory when Melzer hit long.

Nicolas Almagro beat Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-3 to set up the all-Spanish semifinal with Ferrer.

- NZPA