Tennis:Spanish duo David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal have booked their places in the semi-finals of the Tennis Masters Cup after recording straight-sets victories in Shanghai.
Ferrer saw off Richard Gasquet 6-1 6-1 to come through the Gold Group with a perfect 3-0 record in the season-ending tournament that features the top eight players in the world this year.
The result ensured compatriot Nadal also made the last four after he beat Novak Djokovic 6-4 6-4.
Ferrer was in dominant form and dropped only two games as he overwhelmed his French opponent in just under an hour, hitting 18 winners as Gasquet managed to win just 31 per cent of his service points in a match that did not feature a single ace.
And coming after victories over Nadal and Djokovic, the Spaniard continued to belie the underdog status as he bids to become the first debutant to win the prestigious event in nearly 10 years since Alex Corretja achieved the feat in 1998.
"Of course, I am not the favourite," Ferrer, who had just two ATP Tour titles to his name prior to the start of this season, told the tournament's official website.
"Rafa is number two in the world, Djokovic is number three. But tennis every week can have a surprise."
Nadal spurned five break-points against Djokovic, who also sent down nine aces to the Spaniard's three, but still came out on top after one hours and 44 minutes of an enthralling contest thanks in large part to a strong first serve and managing to save three of the four break-points he faced.
Needing to win in straight sets against his Serb opponent to make the semi-finals for a second consecutive year, Nadal was delighted with his performance.
"I played a very, very good match - my best match here and one of my best matches of the indoor season," he said. "I played a very, very complete match."
Despite being out of contention thanks to two previous defeats to Ferrer and Gasquet, Djokovic insisted he had lost none of his motivation ahead of the clash with Nadal.
"I wasn't trying to play for anybody," said Djokovic. "I knew before the match I didn't have any chances for the semi-finals. But, of course, I always try to win whenever I get to the court."