Nadal fulfills hopes with Bangkok semi-final spot

TENNIS: BANGKOK, Oct 2 (AFP) - Crowd-pleaser Rafael Nadal Friday easily defeated Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals in his debut at the Thailand Open.

Nadal, the world number one whose first appearance in Thailand has attracted huge attention, will next face compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, a winner over fourth seed Ernests Gulbis of Latvia 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-3.

Even a dozen aces could not save the erratic Gulbis from defeat as his opponent fired ten. Despite his success in 71 minutes, Nadal typically insisted he's not a favourite for his seventh title of the season. "I'm not the clear favourite, it's very difficult to win a tournament. I'm in the semi-final. I came here with the motivation to be in the final.

"But I have a difficult match tomorrow and I must play really well if I want to win. It's a big challenge. This was a much better performance than in the last round, I'm really happy."

Nadal, winner of the last three Grand Slams and playing for the first time since claiming his first US Open trophy, emerged without problems from his 14th quarter-final of the season, winning his 61st match of 2010 against a mere seven losses.