Marat Safin Gone Down Cheaply As Rafael Nadal Made His Way to China Open Semi Finals

BEIJING — Rafael Nadal moved into the semifinals of the China Open on Friday by defeating Marat Safin 6-3, 6-1.

Nadal outplayed the former top-ranked Russian from the start and remains on track to meet Novak Djokovic in the final Sunday. Djokovic defeated Fernando Verdasco of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-1.

"I think I played a really good match," Nadal said. "I'm happy about my level."

Safin plans to retire at the end of this season, and thanked the fans for their support.

"I haven't been practicing for a long time and I can still hit some balls, so it's a really nice feeling to get on the court," said Safin, who won the inaugural China Open title in 2004.

On Saturday, Nadal will face Marin Cilic of Croatia, who defeated Nikolay Davydenko of Russia 6-4, 6-4. Djokovic will face Robin Soderling of Sweden, who defeated Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia 7-6 (3), 6-4.