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Murray, Nadal line up semi-final in Madrid

Xinhua, May 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

Reigning Madrid Mutua Open champion Andy Murray breezed into the semi-finals of the tournament on Friday with a straight sets 6-3, 6-2 win over number eight seed Tomas Berdych.

Murray hit his best form of the competition at the right time in a dominant display which saw him drop just one point on his serve in the second set and commented afterwards that he had been working to improve his second serve.

Local favorite and number five seed, Rafael Nadal continued his progress into the semis and will face Murray for a place in Sunday' s final.

Nadal looked to be on course for an easy win when he took the first set 6-0 against Portugal' s Joao Sousa. However, following a break for rain in which the roof of the center-court had to be closed, Sousa steadied himself and fought back in the second set winning it 6-4 before Nadal won the decisive third set 6-3.

Kai Nishikori had to work hard before reaching the semi-final with a 6-7(6), 7-6(1), 6-3 victory against Australian Nick Kyrgios and will play the winner of the late match between number one seed Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic.

The women' s final will be played on Saturday between number six seed Simona Halep, who was the only seeded player left in a tournament of surprises and the unseeded Dominika Cibulkova.

Halep made no mistake in defeating Samantha Stosur 6-2, 6-0 in just over 50 minutes, while Cibulkova ended the fairytale of 19-year-old qualifier Louisa Chirico, who is ranked 130 in the world, 6-1, 6-1 in a match lasting just under an hour. Endit