Rafael Nadal served up back-to-back finishing aces Friday as the Spaniard's claycourt juggernaut headed closer to a seventh title at the Barcelona Open with a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Janko Tipsarevic. Nadal's quarterfinal win in 83 minutes, with five breaks of serve, helped the French Open champion take his record here to 33-1, with 32 straight wins. Top seed Nadal will play compatriot Fernando Verdasco, the 2010 winner when Nadal did not compete due to injury, after Kei Nishikori of Japan was forced to retire from their quarterfinal with a side-strain in the first set. “Verdasco is playing well so it will be a difficult match,” said Nadal, who said he played “at my best level,” against Tipsarevic. “I must try to be aggressive to win. You cannot expect easy wins, but this result is pretty good against Janko.” Canadian Milos Raonic handed second seed Andy Murray a claycourt humiliation as the big-hitting youngster hammered the Scot 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) to reach the semi-finals. Raonic, ranked 25th, will be playing in his second career clay semi-final on Saturday against third seed David Ferrer who reached the last four for a sixth consecutive year by beating compatriot Feliciano Lopez 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (9-7), 6-3. Murray was to have been Raonic's opponent in Miami last month, but the Canadian had to withdraw injured before that hardcourt showdown. With the scene shifted to clay, the momentum went with the Canadian as he took the biggest scalp of his fast-rising career in just under one and three-quarter hours at the Real Club de Tenis. “It was important to play a few matches on clay, I had some good tennis from time to time,” said Murray. “It's most important to get ready for the upcoming Masters 1000s (Madrid from May 7 and Rome to follow). Murray, a Monte Carlo quarter-finalist who admitted that he's had a difficult time trying to make the change from hardcourt to clay, praised Raonic's big game. “Milos has always played well on hardcourt - now he's a threat on all surfaces,” he said. Azarenka prevails World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka had to dig deep to overcome hugely talented Mona Barthel of Germany 6-4 6-7 7-5 Friday to book a spot in the Stuttgart indoor tournament semi-finals. The Australian Open champion, who now faces Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska, grabbed a hard-fought first set but had to fight off a sustained challenge from Barthel, who had eliminated former world No. 1 Ana Ivanovic and world No. 7 Mario Bartoli of France in the previous rounds. Earlier Radwanska had to come from a set down to beat China's Li Na 3-6, 6-2, 6-3. Simon through to semis In Bucharest, Top-seeded Gilles Simon rallied to overcome Polish qualifier Lukasz Kubot 3-6, 6-1, 6-3 Friday and reach the semifinals of the Nastase Tiriac Trophy. Qualifier Fabio Fognini upset fellow Italian and six-seeded Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4, while Germany's Matthias Bachinger defeated countryman Daniel Brands 6-4, 6-1. Pous-Tio beats Johansson In Fez, Morocco, Laura Pous-Tio beat Mathilde Johansson of France 6-1, 2-6, 7-5 Friday to reach the Grand Prix SAR final. In a topsy-turvy match, the Spaniard dropped her own serve five times but broke Johansson seven times to reach her first final of the season. The 27-year-old Pous-Tio will face two-time runner-up Simona Halep or qualifier Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in the final. They were playing their semifinal later on the outdoor clay.
