THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
HAMBURG, Germany — Rafael Nadal will play Novak Djokovic for the No. 2 ranking in tennis when they meet in the Hamburg Masters semifinals.
Nadal has been ranked second for a record 147 consecutive weeks, but he will be overtaken by Djokovic if the Australian Open champion wins Saturday’s showdown.
Roger Federer won’t have such problems. His No. 1 slot is not under threat — yet — and the defending champion plays unseeded Andreas Seppi in the other semifinal. Federer is seeking his fifth title in Hamburg.
In doubles play, Toronto’s Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia advanced to the semifinals with a 6-2, 5-7, 10-8 victory over Simon Aspelin of Sweden and Julian Knowle of Austria.
The top three men’s singles players in the world all advanced in straight sets from Friday’s quarter-finals. Neither has lost a set so far.
Federer cruised past Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 6-3; Djokovic beat Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-3; Nadal, last year’s runner-up, topped his mentor and friend, the 11th-seeded Carlos Moya, 6-1, 6-3.
Nadal would have been replaced as No. 2 already Friday, had he lost to Moya.
But the younger of the two Spaniards came through under pressure and rolled past Moya, losing his serve only once in the match.
"It may be a little more important than a normal Masters Series semifinal, but it’s not very special. It’s not for No. 1," Nadal said. "I know very well what it’s like to be No. 2. I’ve been there a long time."
"I played a very good match against a very good player tonight and I will have to play best to win tomorrow. It’s going to be very tough because he is playing with a lot of confidence."
Djokovic, now No. 3, said he preferred to wrest the higher ranking from Nadal personally.
"It’s always a better feeling to deserve it," the Serb said.
Djokovic said it would be a special match, "but I am not trying to think about it and create extra pressure."
"I will try to approach it as any other match," he said.
Djokovic has lost all three previous matches against Nadal on clay. Nadal leads the series 6-3.
But Djokovic leads the tour this year with three tournament titles. Apart from the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam of his career, Djokovic also won the Masters Series event in Indian Wells — beating Nadal in the final — and last week’s Rome Masters.
"I’ve gained mental experience and physical strength, I feel at the top," Djokovic said.
Djokovic won the last four games of the first set and the last three of the second to breeze into the semifinals.
"That was the idea, trying to finish as fast as possible," Djokovic said.
Nadal won the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona tournament before losing his opening match in Rome while suffering from a blister on his right foot. That was only his second loss in 108 matches on clay since April 2005. The only other one was to Federer in the Hamburg final last year, which snapped Nadal’s 81-match winning streak on clay.
Seppi reached his first semifinal of the year by beating Nicolas Kiefer 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. If he defeats Seppi, Federer will not have faced a seeded player until the final. Federer won their only previous encounter to date in a pair of tiebreakers last year at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Verdasco, who lost in the first round to Federer in Hamburg three years ago in their only previous encounter, had his right foot bandaged after taking a 3-2 lead in the second set and didn’t win another game.
"I felt a sharp pain in my ankle in the fourth game, just when I was making him suffer," Verdasco said.
Federer said it was a pity Verdasco hurt his foot, although he didn’t think it mattered much in the end.
"But it was a tough match. He has a perfect game to upset anyone on any surface," Federer said. "He was aggressive with his backhand and he surprised me.
"It took me a little time to adjust little to a lefty."
Federer has won only one title this year, at a relatively small clay-court tournament last month in Estoril, Portugal.
He lost his sixth match of 2008 in the Rome Masters quarter-finals last week, to Radek Stepanek, but has eased through his first three matches in Hamburg without dropping a set.
The tournament is a major warmup for the French Open later this month, the only Grand Slam title that Federer has yet to win.