World number one Rafael Nadal stormed into the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters on Friday with his 17th consecutive win over Tomas Berdych, 6-4, 6-2.
Maria Sharapova also booked her place in the last four of the Madrid Open with a three-set win over Li Na, but top seed and reigning champion Serena Williams was forced to pull out of the tournament due to a thigh injury.
Despite coming into the tournament with doubts following surprise defeats to David Ferrer and Nicolas Almagro in recent weeks, Nadal has looked in fine form in the Spanish capital as he has cruised into the last four without the loss of a set.
The 13-time Grand Slam champion will meet compatriot Roberto Bautista Agut or Colombia’s Santiago Giraldo on Saturday for a place in the final.
Williams was due to face Petra Kvitova in the quarter-finals but pulled out due to a thigh injury she had been carrying since sweeping aside Swiss teenager Belinda Bencic in the first round on Sunday.
However, the American insisted that she will try to defend her title at the Italian Open in Rome next week.
Sharapova has been beaten by Williams in Madrid in the last two years, including in the 2013 final, and the Russian is now the favourite to clinch her first title in the Spanish capital as she edged a thrilling match against second seed Li 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Li looked on course for the semi-finals when she broke to lead 4-3 in the second set. However, Sharapova broke back immediately and, despite needing four set points, finally forced the match into a deciding set when Li netted at 5-6 down in the tie-break.
There were three breaks of serve to open the third set, but Sharapova took control when she finally consolidated the break at 3-1 and was gifted the final game when Li double faulted on match point.
The four-time Grand Slam champion will face third seed Agnieszka Radwanska or French qualifier Caroline Garcia in the semi-finals.
Also into Saturday’s semis is fourth seed Simona Halep as she set up a meeting with Kvitova thanks to a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic.
