A near flawless Novak Djokovic crushed Marin Cilic 6-0 6-3 to set up a blockbuster Monte Carlo Masters semi-final with claycourt king Rafael Nadal, who came through a testing workout by David Ferrer yesterday.

World number one Djokovic won the first eight games against US Open champion Cilic, whose first mark on the scoreboard was greeted by an ironic celebration from the Croat.

There was little else for Cilic to cheer as Djokovic comfortably wrapped up the contest in an hour and five minutes to extend his winning streak to 15 matches after completing an Indian Wells-Miami Masters sweep in March.

Nadal came through against Ferrer 6-4 5-7 6-2, eventually suppressing his tireless compatriot after two hours and 44 minutes of attritional combat.

Today’s semi-final, a 43rd meeting between Nadal and Djokovic, will reignite one of the fiercest rivalries in the history of tennis and the winner will be an overwhelming favourite to take the title.

On the other side of the draw, Gael Monfils beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-1 6-3 to set up a clash with Tomas Berdych, whose match with Milos Raonic ended when the Canadian retired with a foot injury trailing 5-2 in the first set.