Nadal cruises to semi-final date

RAFAEL NADAL continued his claycourt dominance yesterday by breezing into the semi-finals of the Mercedes Cup with a 6-1 6-3 victory over Argentinian Juan Monaco in Stuttgart.

It was the third consecutive straight-sets victory for Nadal, who won this tournament in 2005 before opting to not enter the event last year to prepare for the hardcourt season.

So far, Nadal’s return has been quite easy, as the world number two has dropped just 12 of 48 games in this event.