World number one Rafael Nadal survived a second-set scare to beat Spanish compatriot Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 7-5 and seal his place in the sem
i-finals of the Madrid Open on Friday.
Nadal will play Novak Djokovic for a place in Sunday's final after the Serbian third seed stayed on course for a fifth straight final appearance with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Croatian wildcard Ivan Ljubicic.
Second-seeded Swiss Roger Federer also advanced, surviving a gritty Andy Roddick fightback to beat the American sixth seed 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 and set up a last-four clash against Juan Martin Del Potro, who ruined Andy Murray's 22nd birthday celebrations by beating the Briton 7-6, 6-3.
Nadal survived an epic five-setter against Verdasco in the semi-finals of the Australian Open in January and the seventh seed gave him another stiff test on the Mallorca native's favoured clay in the new Magic Box stadium.
Verdasco went long with a forehand to hand the first set to his Davis Cup team-mate but fought back to open up a 4-0 lead in the second. The French Open champion mounted an impressive comeback to reel off the next five games and Verdasco saved two match points on his serve before holding for 5-5.
Nadal, chasing a sixth title of the year, carved out three more match points at 6-5 and only needed one of them to seal his 149th win on clay in 153 matches since the beginning of 2005.
"I'm trying to find my rhythm, it's taking me quite a bit to adapt to the height of the bounce," Nadal said at a news conference, referring to the faster conditions in the higher altitude of the Spanish capital. Federer let slip a 3-0 lead in the second set tiebreak to drop his first set of the tournament against a gutsy Roddick.
But the Swiss maestro found a higher gear in the deciding set, on one point playing an extraordinary shot from the baseline between his legs with his back to the net and chasing down Roddick's drop volley to win the rally.
Federer had never faced Roddick on clay before and improved his record against the former number one to 18 wins and two defeats going back to 2001. Roddick, who has had six weeks off and got married in Texas last month, was not too downcast.
Murray let slip a 5-2 first-set lead before losing the tiebreak 7-4 and Del Potro grabbed the crucial break in the sixth game of the second set in a match that finished well after midnight local time.
Djokovic got frustrated with himself at times against the 30-year-old Ljubicic but saved two break points in the second set and wrapped up victory on his first match point when the Croat went long with a return.
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