Nadal's explosive strokeplay proved too hot for Tursunov

World number one Rafael Nadal coasted through to the semi-finals of the Japan Open in Tokyo but second seed Andy Roddick was beaten by Gael Monfils.

Top seed Nadal took 72 minutes to beat Dmitry Tursunov 6-4 6-1 and make it two wins out of two against the Russian.

Roddick lost 7-6 (7-5) 4-6 7-6 (8-6) to Monfils despite saving three match points in the second set.

Fifth seed Monfils will play Radek Stepanek, who went through after Jarkko Nieminen pulled out with a fever.

Nadal was far superior to his Russian opponent in terms of power and speed, and sealed victory with a whipped forehand down the line.

"I still have lots of work to win this tournament but it would be very positive for me and a big boost for the rest of the season," said the 24-year-old Spaniard, who revealed he was going off to watch Japan play Argentina in a football friendly and meet up with his friend Lionel Messi.

In the last four he will meet Viktor Troicki after the Serbian's 6-2 3-6 6-4 win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain.

Monfils took the first of the tie-breaks against Roddick after a delightful array of lobs, drop shots and volleys, concluding the set with a fierce backhand past the American at the net.

Roddick broke for 5-4 in the second set with an emphatic smash and the former world number one, now ranked 10th, levelled the match with a powerful forehand down the line.

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In the deciding set Roddick was 0-40 down when serving to stay in the match at 4-5, but stayed afloat courtesy of three booming serves.

Once again Monfils had the upper hand in the tie-break, however, and managed to reach a drop shot and then find a gap to pass Roddick and secure victory in a shade under three hours.

"I tried to control the points," Monfils said. "I tried to be aggressive, tried to push him, come to the net a bit more."

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