Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray both had to work double shifts Friday before setting up a mouth-watering Monte Carlo Masters semi-final clash. Top seed and world number one Nadal dispatched Nicolas Lapentti, in a match held over due to Thursday's torrential downpours, and then saw off Croatia's Ivan Ljubicic.
Murray, the fourth seed, defeated Italian Fabio Fognini, having held a one-set lead overnight, and then came back in the evening to end the challenge of Russian sixth seed Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (7/1), 6-4.
Four-time champion Nadal, bidding for a fifth consecutive trophy at the Country Club finished off Ecuador's Lapentti 6-3, 6-0. In late afternoon, he drove home a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ljubicic. Murray has never gone this far on clay and has never won three matches in a row on the surface.
In Saturday's other semi-final, world number three Novak Djokovic will line up against Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka who put out Roger Federer in the third round. Djokovic, under pressure from Murray in the world rankings, advanced over Spanish seventh seed Fernando Verdasco 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
Wawrinka, the number 13 seed, beat German qualifier Andreas Beck 6-2, 6-4 and will be aiming for revenge against Djokovic after losing to the Serb three times in 2008. Their last meeting came in the final of Rome 11 months ago, Wawrinka's finest week on court.
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