Tue Jan 22 01:34:35 2008

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Nadal advances to Aussie semis

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Melbourne, Australia (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Spaniard Rafael Nadal easily defeated 24th-seeded Finn Jarkko Nieminen on Tuesday in the Australian Open quarterfinals.

Nadal had a tough first set, but held on and easily handled Nieminen in the next two sets to win 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 in two hours, 19 minutes.

The three-time French Open champion and two-time Wimbledon runner-up Nadal is now 4-0 lifetime against Nieminen.

Nadal will next face the winner of the match between 14th-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny and unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, which will take place later on Tuesday.