French Open
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Date: 23 May-6 June
Coverage: Live video streamed from 1000 BST on BBC Sport website (UK only) and BBC red button; commentary on BBC 5 live sports extra; also live on Eurosport; text commentary on BBC Sport website Details of BBC coverage

Highlights - Nadal goes through to semis

By Piers Newbery BBC Sport at Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal remains on course to win a fifth French Open crown after he reached the semi-finals with a hard-fought win over fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.

The world number two was in defiant mood as he fought his way to a 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 victory in two hours 34 minutes, and so moved closer to regaining the title he lost last year.

Third seed Novak Djokovic let slip a two-set lead in losing 3-6 2-6 6-2 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 to 22nd seed Jurgen Melzer in the remaining quarter-final on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

It was the morning after the night before on Court Philippe Chatrier, with Roland Garros still coming to terms with Robin Soderling's superb defeat of top seed Roger Federer, but Nadal was not about to provide another headline-grabbing defeat.

He had beaten Almagro in each of their previous six meetings, including a 6-1 6-1 6-1 drubbing at the same stage of the French Open in 2008, and Nadal prevailed again albeit after a far tougher test than the straight-sets scoreline might suggest.

Almagro hits the ball as hard as anyone and he tore into Nadal's serve early on, some heavy returns helping him to a swift 3-0 lead before the four-time champion roared back with a running forehand pass on his way to recovering the break.

606: DEBATE with Nadal playing like this, I think Soderling would have a massive chance to beat him if they were to meet in the final AlphaDraconis99

But this time the world number 21 was not about to crumble in the face of his illustrious compatriot and he saved two more break points as the set came down to a tie-break.

Having worked so hard to get there, it was hard on Almagro that Nadal raced through it, thanks in part to another spectacular forehand pass on the run.

The second set was an even tighter affair with only one break point on offer, Nadal saving it with a heavy serve before the six-time Grand Slam champion's big-match experience came to the fore again.

He opened the second tie-break of the match with a textbook serve-volley and another running forehand, sealing it moments later with a powerful cross-court backhand that nearly knocked Almagro off his feet.

It took the best part of two-and-a-half hours for Almagro's resistance to be broken once and for all but, when he found the tramlines at 0-40 in game nine of the third set, it left Nadal to serve for the match.

I really wanted to play a little bit longer but I couldn't today Rafael Nadal

Almagro made sure he left his mark by saving the first match point with a stunning backhand ripped down the line but he went for too much on the second and the ball sailed over the baseline, much to Nadal's obvious relief.

Nadal knows that he will return to the top of the rankings ahead of Federer if he wins the tournament and, as ever, history beckons him as he bids to become only the second man after Bjorn Borg to win five Roland Garros titles.

"It was very difficult to break him because his serve is hard and he was playing very hard from the baseline," said Nadal, "hitting the ball very well, long with the backhand and the forehand.

"I was a little bit nervous to play as long as I really would like to play. I really wanted to play a little bit longer but I couldn't today. But it's because of the opponent too.

"So I'm very happy how I played the tie-breaks. I played very aggressive, very focused and in the important moments I think I played better than the rest of the match."

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