Rafael Nadal may have started his US Open campaign by playing on clay, but the former no. 1 seems to be doing it just right. On Friday, he defeated Pablo Cuevas 6-3 6-2 to advance to the semifinals of the bet-at-home Open in Hamburg.

The match marked the second meeting for both players with Nadal winning their previous encounter, and the Spaniard extended his winning record against the Argentine after prevailing in 72 minutes.

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"I played I think 90 per cent of the match doing the right things, doing the right shots every time and waiting for my moment," said Nadal who won 70% of his service points. "I think I created some problems for him when he was trying to hit a winner. I think I changed well the direction."

Next up for the top seed is Andreas Seppi who booked a place in the semis after a walkover from Simone Bolelli.

"He's a great player," Nadal spoke of Seppi who has yet to win a clay court match against the 9-time French Open Champion. "He's a very consistent player that has very, very solid shots from the baseline and changing very well the direction. I will try to let him play not comfortable and let's see if I'm able to do that."

A win in Hamburg will not only give Nadal his first European clay-court tournament win for the year. His ranking will also improve, giving him the confidence-boost he needs to do well in the next few weeks before the final grand slam of the year commences.

Meanwhile, the bottom-half of the Hamburg draw sees eight seed and former Champion Fabio Fognini of Italy against Lucas Pouille of France. Fognini beat Aljaz Bedene in straight sets while Pouille knocked off Benoit Paire who scored a quarterfinal place after defeating second seed Tommy Robredo.

"I knew it would be tough. I was prepared for it," Pouille said after winning 6-3 6-2. "I succeeded in playing my best tennis today. It was a very good day. This will improve my ranking a lot. It's been a great week and I'm hoping to get to the final."

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