Buenos Aires, Feb 13 (IANS): Spanish tennis star and World No.5 Rafael Nadal has advanced to the semi-finals of the Argentina Open, beating Italy's Paolo Lorenzi 7-6(3), 6-2.
Without showing his best, the former World No.1 displayed his dominance in the first set tie-break to beat an in-form Lorenzi on Friday, reports Xinhua.
In the second set, Nadal turned on the pressure and after breaking the Italian in the third game, took the set and match in broiling conditions where the mercury topped 40 degrees Celsius.
"The conditions were extreme and cost me a bit. My stomach is in a little bit of pain," said Nadal while thanking the Argentinean crowd for their support.
In the semi-final, Nadal will face Australia's Dominic Thiem, who saw off Serbia's Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-final.