Rafael Nadal breezes through first set

With only a couple of shouts of "Vamos!" during a difficult service game at 3-1, Nadal completed a tidy 6-2 first set over Mikhail Youzhny with a curling forehand, cross-court winner to break Youzhny for the second time.

Youzhny is a plugger, a guy who gets to lots of balls and has good endurance, but no one does that better than Nadal, who already seems to have taken away Youzhny's will. Nadal broke at 1-2 and Youzhny gamely tried to break right back, getting a couple of break points, but Nadal fired off a couple of good serves, held and went on his merry way.

Just 42 minutes for the opening set, and Nadal is two more of those away from his first Open final.