Nadal strolls into last four

World number one Rafael Nadal moved closer to landing a seventh title of the year as he booked a place in the semi-finals of the PTT Thailand Open.

The Spaniard brushed past Russian Mikhail Kukushkin in their first career meeting, winning 6-2 6-3, and is the only seed remaining in the last four at the Bangkok tournament.

Nadal's compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez awaits in tomorrow's semi-finals, after knocking out Latvian fourth seed Ernests Gulbis, winning 7-6 (7/4) 4-6 6-3.

Third seed Jurgen Melzer also perished in the quarter-finals, the Austrian losing 6-3 7-6 (7/4) to Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.

Nieminen will meet Benjamin Becker next, after the 29-year-old rolled to a 6-4 6-2 victory over his fellow German Daniel Brands.