Nadal Moves Closer to No. 17; Gulbis Reaches First Masters 1000 SF

© Getty ImagesRafael Nadal is two wins away from his fifth title in Rome.

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal appears nigh on unstoppable in his pursuit of a fifth title at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and a record-equalling 17th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 shield. Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka played a high level of tennis that would have troubled most players, but was allowed just five games as Nadal raced to a 6-4, 6-1 victory Friday in the quarter-finals in Rome.

Since making his 2010 clay-court debut at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters two weeks ago, Nadal has not surrendered more than six games in a match and is powering towards the defence of his title at the Foro Italico to join his triumph in Monte-Carlo (d. Verdasco).

The Spaniard was held on serve until the 10th game of his clash with Wawrinka, when he engineered a way through the Swiss player’s defences to snatch a one-set lead. The second set was a more comfortable affair for Nadal, who broke serve in the second and sixth games to seal victory in 90 minutes. Nadal is unbroken in three matches this week, saving eight break points in total.

Watch Live Online  | Buy Tickets  |  Watch Friday Highlights

"I think that in the first set today I was in trouble for a long time," reflected Nadal. "He was doing his serve much better than I was and I only won one point before 5-4 and for the whole game, my serve was hard. The important thing was that I was very concentrated because he was playing very well and perhaps better than me in the beginning. But from the 5-4, I started to play it well.

Watch Nadal Interview

"I don't think I played my best match tonight. I think that the level in Monte-Carlo was unbelievable and the final I played unbelievably and also in the semi-final too. I played well (today) but I was probably playing better in Monte Carlo."

As the month draws to a close, Nadal clinched his 57th successive victory in April – a spell that has seen him claim 10 titles. His last loss in the month of April came in 2005 against Igor Andreev in the Valencia quarter-finals.

At just 23 years of age, Nadal is looking to equal Andre Agassi’s record of 17 ATP World Tour Masters titles this week. He has won at least two of the coveted shields in the past five years and has a 173-35 record.

The 25-year-old Wawrinka, who slipped to a 0-5 record against Nadal, was bidding to reach the Rome final for the second time this week, having finished runner-up to Novak Djokovic in 2008.

Next up Nadal will face Latvian Ernests Gulbis, who prevented an all-Spanish semi-final sweep with a 7-6(6), 6-1 win over Feliciano Lopez in the last singles match of the day. Gulbis, who stunned Roger Federer in the second round, clipped 35 winners to just 15 unforced errors and won 73 per cent of points on his second serve.

"I served well; I had a good feeling on my forehand," said Gulbis. "I like playing in the night time because the balls don't fly so much so I can go for my shots. I'm happy."

Watch Gulbis Interview

Gulbis, 21, won his first ATP World Tour title earlier this year in Delray Beach. A Barcelona quarter-finalist last week, Gulbis will contest his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final.

"Nadal - I played him twice before, on grass at Wimbledon and Madrid on fast indoors," noted Gulbis, 0-2 lifetime against the former World No. 1. "I never played him on clay; it's going to be something special, a new goal for me to have a chance to play against him on clay."