Rafael Nadal won his 17th straight match against Tomas Berdych as the top seed rolled to a 6-4, 6-2 victory and a place in the semi-finals of the Madrid Masters on Friday, according to dpa. Nadal has been struggling with his clay game this spring and has yet to win a title on the surface where he has dominated for nearly a decade. He will take a step closer to defending his 2013 title when he plays the winner from Colombian Santiago Giraldo, a qualifier who beat Andy Murray, and Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday. Nadal is seeking his fourth trophy in Madrid and could use a boost in confidence with the French Open starting in just over a fortnight. The world number one last lost to Berdych in 2006. Nadal is playing in the capital for the 12th time, winning titles in 2005, 2010 and a year ago when he beat Stanislas Wawrinka. He finished the first set with an inside-out forehand winner and concluded victory with an ace after 87 minutes, winning his 12th clay match of 2014. In women's play, Maria Sharapova posted a gruelling 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 fightback over second seed Li Na to reach the WTA final four. Romanian fourth seed Simona Halep advanced against Serb 11th seed Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and six breaks of serve. Sharapova needed two and half hours to win on a day when top seed Serena Williams withdrew with a left thigh injury but insisted she would try to play next week in Rome. Williams lifted trophies at the last two Spanish editions. The re-match retirement handed a win to Czech Petra Kvitova through walkover. "I have a left thigh injury and, unfortunately, have to withdraw. It happened during my first round match. It started to get better, but most importantly right now, I just need some time to rest and recover," said Williams. "I am planning to play in Rome. Fortunately, I have a bye next week so will have an extra day of rest. For now," said Williams, "I will take it one day at a time and take advantage of some extra rest." Sharapova was tested by China's Li, who now stands 5-10 in the series, -- SPA 19:29 LOCAL TIME 16:29 GMT تغريد
