Davydenko broke Stepanek's serve four times in the match

Nikolay Davydenko fought back from a set down to defeat Radek Stepanek 6-7 6-2 6-2 and set up a semi-final against Rafael Nadal at the Barcelona Open.

The third seed wasted three set points in the first as Stepanek forced a tie-break, which the Czech player won courtesy of his seventh ace.

But Davydenko responded by taking the second set before breaking twice in the third to clinch the victory.

Nadal was handed a bye into the semis after an injury to David Nalbandian.

The Argentine withdrew from the quarter-finals after sustaining a right hip injury after beating Nicolas Almagro.

606: DEBATE I think that a non-specialist clay courter has a better chance of beating Rafa on clay than the specialists do dummy_half

Davydenko expressed his desire to test his skills against the might of Nadal.

"You never know about tomorrow, but I'm not going to worry about it now. I'm going to relax and enjoy my life," the Russian said.

In Friday's other quarter-finals, Chilean ninth seed Fernando Gonzalez needed over two hours to upset second seed Fernando Verdasco, with the Spaniard going down fighting 6-3 4-6 6-4.

The powerful Gonzalez will play against 2008 finalist David Ferrer on Saturday after the fourth seed saw off fellow Spaniard Tommy Robredo 6-3 6-4 in just under 90 minutes.

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