World number one Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal reached milestones as they eased into the Monte Carlo Masters Series semi-finals on Friday.
Federer clinched his 500th professional victory with a 6-4, 6-0 defeat of Spaniard David Ferrer while Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 65 matches by seeing off German qualifier Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-2, 6-3.
Nadal was barely troubled against the world number 59 though he needed five match points to wrap up a 74-minute win.
''At this level, there is no easy match,'' the Spaniard said in a courtside interview.
''I expect a lot from myself for tomorrow's semi-final.'' Federer, who has never dropped a set against claycourt specialist Ferrer in their six encounters, meets 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero for a place in Sunday's final.
Nadal, twice French Open champion, will play Czech Tomas Berdych, who fought back to knock out Swede Robin Soederling 5-7, 6-3, 6-0.
Spaniard Ferrero ended Frenchman Richard Gasquet's run in the principality with a 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 victory.
Gasquet started brightly but ran out of gas by the end of the second set as Ferrero outplayed him with powerful groundstrokes from the baseline.
He clinched victory in two hours 26 minutes on his first match point.
''I thought that he was a bit down physically and I knew it eventually because he started to come often to the net,'' said Ferrero.
MERE FORMALITY
Federer wasted no time in defeating Ferrer.
Following two exchanges of breaks, Federer stepped up a gear and broke decisively in the ninth game when Ferrer sent a forehand wide.
The second set was a mere formality for the Swiss, who wrapped up the win in 58 minutes.
''I just felt like it was easy to keep the ball in play. It was easy to play aggressive. And usually that always happens against the best players. David is a very good player from my point of view,'' Federer told reporters.
''When I needed good shots they came along and today was a really good match so I'm really pleased.'' Berdych came back from the brink of elimination to beat Soederling.
Following an exchange of breaks, Soederling took his opponent's serve in the 12th game to clinch the opening set when Berdych sent a forehand wide.
The Swede opened a 3-0 gap in the second set before Berdych suddenly woke up and won 12 games in a row.
''I started badly today but then things changed. I'm really happy to be in a position to prepare for tomorrow's semi-final,'' Berdych told reporters.
