It was a match well anticipated in this year's Madrid Open and once again Rafael Nadal came out on top with a straight sets victory, winning it 6-3 6-4. Grigor Dimitrov, who has never beaten Rafa, looked steady and set for a challenge on his hands after beating Stan Wawrinka in the previous round. However, it was the might of Rafa that prevailed once again to take the victory and seal his place in the semi-finals.
Rafa started well breaking Dimitrov early, but Dimitrov broke back to level the set with a 2-2 scoreline. The rest of the first set was one-sided, with brilliant forehand returns from the Spaniard that simply perplexed Grigor. Rafa then took the first set, winning 6-3.
Dimitrov came back hard in the second set and broke Nadal early - at one time was leading 3-1. However, Rafa held his nerve and broke back to level it at 3-3. Then, Dimitrov smashed his racquet in disgust as he failed to return Rafa's serve; frustration was getting to him. Nadal exploited his opponent's weakness, and eventually sealed the victory with a straight sets victory, breaking a 5-4 before taking the set and the match.
Nadal will now be facing Tomas Berdych (who beat John Isner in his match) in an intriguing encounter from the semi-finals, to be played tomorrow. The clay court specialist needs to win the title in order to defend his top four world ranking, but his next match is sure to be a challenging one against another heavyweight.