Intro:

Rafa Nadal advanced to the semi final of the Hamburg Open on Friday (31st July) following a straight-sets win over Pablo Cuevas.

Script:

Top-seeded Rafael Nadal advanced to the semi final of the Hamburg Open by beating fifth-seeded Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal will face Andreas Seppi, who advanced to the last four without taking to the court after his opponent, Simone Bolleli, was forced to withdraw with a stomach problem.

The current world number 10 is looking to extend a streak that has seen him win at least one of Europe's clay-court tournaments every year since 2004.

SOUNBDITE (English) Rafa Nadal (on his victory):

"Happy to be in the semi-finals. It's great news for me. Never easy to come back to clay after a period of time playing on grass. Arriving here without the best feelings possible, but I was able to play with the right mentality and able to find solutions for every moment. Today was a consistent match and I'm happy with that."