Nadal, Ferrer to meet in semis

PARIS (AP) - A rain shower stopped play at Roland Garros for a minute or two in the middle of Rafael Nadal's quarterfinal.

Nicolas Almagro? He couldn't do anything to slow Rafa at his favorite tournament.

Second-seeded Nadal defeated his fellow Spaniard 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday to move to the French Open semifinals, two wins away from a record seventh title on the red clay of Paris.

Nadal, who shares the Roland Garros record with Bjorn Borg, hasn't lost a set through his first five matches this year. Against the 12th-seeded Almagro, he faced four break points but saved them all. He improved to 50-1 lifetime at Roland Garros, with the only loss coming to Robin Soderling in 2009.

"I was just trying to wait for my moments," Nadal said. "He had some good moments and he was hitting the ball hard, but I had my chances, too."

Nadal's next match will be against sixth-seeded David Ferrer, who defeated No. 4 seed Andy Murray 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-2 to move to his first French Open semifinal. Ferrer's last semifinal appearance at a Grand Slam came at the 2011 Australian Open, where he defeated Nadal in the quarterfinals to get there.

The other men's semifinal Friday will be No. 1-ranked Novak Djokovic against No. 3 Roger Federer. Djokovic is bidding to become the first man to win four consecutive major titles since Rod Laver 43 years ago. Federer wants to add to his record 16 Grand Slam titles and end a drought of more than two years without one.

In the women's semifinals today, three-time major champion Maria Sharapova faces No. 4 Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic in a rematch of last year's Wimbledon final won by Kvitova, while U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia meets No. 21 Sara Errani of Italy.

Sharapova, who is trying to complete a career Grand Slam, beat No. 23 Kaia Kanepi of Estonia 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday, and Kvitova edged 142nd-ranked qualifier Yaroslava Shvedova 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.