Spanish third seed Rafael Nadal, trying to complete a career Grand Slam, advanced to the US Open semi-finals yesterday by defeating Chilean 11th seed Fernando Gonzalez 7-6 7-6 6-0.

Six-time Grand Slam champion Nadal, who led when rain stopped play last Thursday, will play for a berth in tomorrow's final against Argentine sixth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, who ousted Croatian 16th seed Marin Cilic 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-1.

Five-time defending champion Roger Federer, the Swiss world number one seeking to stretch his record total of Grand Slam titles to 16, will play Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic in today's other semi-final.

Nadal, who beat Gonzalez in last year's Beijing Olympic final, matched his best US Open run from last year by taking a sixth consecutive victory over Gonzalez in a rivalry he leads 7-3.

"I'm in the semi-finals for the second time in my life at the US Open," Nadal said. "It was a very important result for me."

Nadal seized a 7-6 6-6 lead when rain halted the match. Showers washed out all play on Friday, giving Nadal extra time to recover.

"Yeah, lucky for me," Nadal said. "It was important to have one day off for me to be well."

The waiting set up a dramatic return to the Arthur Ashe Stadium, but the tension faded fast.

Gonzalez dropped the second set by losing the first four points after the resumption, sending one forehand wide, two more long and netting a backhand to give the Spanish left-hander command of the match.

The South American swatted 21 unforced errors in the third set to lose it in just 31 minutes. Gonzalez had a trainer cut tape and extra padding off his feet after falling 3-0 down, then lost the next seven points, eventually giving up another break and later the match by netting a forehand.

Nadal owns a 4-2 career edge on Del Potro, but the Argentine star has won their two most recent meetings, in Montreal and Miami hardcourt quarter-finals earlier this year.

"He's very solid from the baseline," Nadal said.

"It's important for me to play well if I'm going to have a chance to win."

Nadal is trying to become just the seventh man to complete the career Grand Slam, joining Federer, Andrè Agassi, Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver and Roy Emerson as the only men to win each of the four major titles.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.