Rafael Nadal advances to semifinals

       Nadal recovered from a shaky start --- which included having his service broken for the first time in this tournament – and simply rolled over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

         "It's was very important to me to be in the semifinals one more time," Nadal said. "This is one of the most important tournaments in the world. For me, the most important right now."

        The U.S. Open is the only Grand Slam tournament that Nadal hasn't won.

         Verdasco was coming off a marathon five-set match in the fourth-round. Nadal will now move on to play another player coming off a five-set match. Nadal’s next opponent is Mikhail Youzny who outlasted Stanislas Warinka in a marathon four-hour quarterfinal earlier Thursday.

        Youzny and Novak Djokovicare the only players standing in the way of the match that everyone seems to watch Nadal versus Roger Federer. Federer, the No. 2 seed, plays Djokovic in the semis.

Barbara Barker, aka meanbarb on twitter