Vina del Mar, Chile (Sports Network) - Former world No. 1 Rafael Nadal
delivered another impressive performance in his return from a seven-month
layoff, with the Spanish star cruising to a straight-set win over countryman
Daniel Gimeno-Traver in Friday's quarterfinals of the ATP World Tour's VTR
Open.
The top-seeded Nadal came up with three breaks of the seventh-seeded Gimeno-
Traver while staving off four break points en route to a 6-1, 6-4 victory on
the red clay at Club Naval de Campo Las Silnas. The 11-time Grand Slam
champion is playing in his first event since coming back from an extended
hiatus caused by a knee injury.
"Today I had more confidence than the other days," said Nadal afterward. "That
is positive. It gives me confidence and reasons to believe I'm on the right
way."
Next up for the current World No. 5 will be Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who
earned his berth in Saturday's semifinals by routing sixth-seeded Paolo
Lorenzi, 6-2, 6-3.
The third-seeded Chardy, a semifinalist at this tournament a year ago, won 89
percent of his first serves and needed just an hour and four minutes to
dispose of his Italian foe.
Also on Day 4, Argentine Horacio Zeballos took out fifth-seeded Spaniard
Albert Ramos 6-1, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6) to set up a semifinal bout with No. 8 seed
Carlos Berlocq, with the Argentine advancing via a walkover against Guillaume
Rufin when the Frenchman pulled out due to an abdominal strain.
Berlocq was last year's Vina del Mar runner-up to fellow Argentine Juan
Monaco.
This week's winner will collect $74,000.
The Sports Network