MONTREAL — Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal advanced to a mouthwatering semifinal showdown at the Rogers Cup after they crushed their quarterfinal opponents in ruthless fashion Friday. Djokovic, the world No. 1, was flawless in a 6-1, 6-2 demolition of French seventh seed Richard Gasquet while Nadal was equally emphatic in a straight sets win over Australian qualifier Marinko Matosevic 6-2, 6-4. Serbia's Djokovic and Spaniard Nadal will face off for the 36th time after the 11th seed Milos Raonic and local wildcard Vasek Pospisil compete in an all-Canadian semifinal. Djokovic was imperious against Gasquet as he produced his best performance since returning from a month off after losing the Wimbledon final. Unleashing his full repertoire of big serves, crushing ground strokes and plenty of touch, Djokovic barely raised a sweat as Gasquet was emphatically dispatched in just 52 minutes. The crowd then got more entertainment when Djokovic returned to the center court for what has become his customary celebration dance as the stadium roared its approval. Nadal was always in control of his quarterfinal against a fatigued Matosevic, who had come through two qualifying matches on top of his three main draw victories. The 12-time grand slam champion never looked like being seriously challenged under the lights and he let rip with a procession of thundering forehand winners which booked his place in another Masters series semifinal against Djokovic. Local favorite Milos Raonic held his nerve to beat Latvia's Ernests Gulbis in a thrilling quarterfinal to join fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the semifinals. Raonic, the world No. 13, kept his cool in front of a parochial home crowd as he overcame Gulbis 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in a two and a half hour showdown. Andy Murray's singles campaign may have ended prematurely but the Wimbledon champion and partner Colin Fleming have won through to the doubles semifinals. They defeated Aisam Ul Haq Qureshi and Jean-Julien Rojer to set up a match against the top ranked Mike and Bob Bryan. Serena in semis World No.1 Serena Williams, who is seeking her eighth title of the year, stormed into the semifinals at the WTA Rogers Cup with a crushing straight-set win over Magdalena Rybarikova. The 31-year-old Williams blitzed the world No. 42 Slovak 6-1, 6-1 in a quarterfinal match that took just one hour on Friday. Williams next faces third-seeded Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland Saturday for a spot in the final. Unseeded Romanian Sorana Cirstea also sent defending champion Petra Kvitova packing Friday in the quarterfinals. Radwanska powered her way past Sara Errani of Italy 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 in an earlier quarterfinal match. Cirstea rallied for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory over sixth-seeded Kvitova and advanced to a semifinal clash with China's Li Na, the woman Kvitova beat in the final last year when the tournament was held in Montreal. Li battled through a tight first set then coasted to a 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 victory over Dominika Cibulkova to reach the final four. — Agencies
