Rafael Nadal is on course to retain his French Open title after defeating Nicolas Almagro 7-6[4] 6-2 6-3 to reach the semi-final of the major tournament.
The number 12 seed arguably started the clash better than the six-time Roland Garros winner by forcing a number of powerful backhand shots across the clay court, which Nadal found difficult to respond to.
Despite a strong effort from Almagro, Nadal managed to ease his way into the contest and complete a host of damaging forehands down the line, which continued to trouble his fellow countryman.
The opening set was forced to go into a tie-break after an hour of play and while Almagro was determined to clinch the set lead, it was Nadal who held on to grab the first set.
The former world number one came into his stride at the beginning of the second set and managed to dominate the court and take control with a number of strong forehands and exquisite drop shots.
Nadal clinched a vital break of serve and while Almagro piled the pressure on his fellow Spaniard at times, it wasn't enough to throw him off his game and the 25-year-old grabbed the second set relatively comfortably.
The third set was halted by rain in the early stages, which would have been a welcome break for Almagro but after a matter of minutes the pair resumed play with Nadal stepping up an extra gear to try to finish the game off.
Almagro's frustrations continued in the third after scuffing his second break point of the contest, which Nadal managed to capitalise on and push on to clinch the set 6-3.
Danielle Joynson
