02 June,2011 09:04 AM IST | | AFP
Rejuvenated defending champion Rafael Nadal set-up a mouth-watering French Open semi-final clash against British fourth seed Andy Murray yesterday as both men clinched impressive straight sets wins.
Nadal, who will be 25 on Friday, the day of the semi-final, turned in easily his most impressive performance of the tournament, demolishing Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 (7/3).
It was the Spaniard's second successive French Open win over Soderling after his victory in the 2010 final had avenged his stunning fourth round defeat to the Swede the year before, still Nadal's only loss in Paris against 43 wins Murray charged into the semi-finals for the first time with a 7-6 (7/2), 7-5, 6-2 win over Argentine veteran Juan Ignacio Chela.
He is just the second British player to reach the last four in Paris in the Open era (since 1968) after Tim Henman did so in 2004.
With Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic contesting the other semi-final, it will be the first time since the 2006 French Open that the top four seeds are into the last four in a Grand Slam event.
