Ferrer, Nadal move into Mexican Open semis

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ACAPULCO, Mexico, March 1 (UPI) -- David Ferrer and Rafael Nadal both moved into the semifinals Thursday at the Mexican Open, moving a step closer to an early season showdown.

Ferrer, seeded No. 1 and ranked fourth in the world, coasted past Paolo Lorenzi in their quarterfinal encounter 6-3, 6-1. Ferrer eased past Nadal in the world rankings last year while Nadal was recovering from a knee injury that put him on the sidelines for six months.

Nadal, No. 5 in the world and seeded second this week, was a 6-1, 7-5 winner over Leonardo Mayer in Thursday's closing match.

Ferrer already has two titles this year and Nadal has one.

Fabio Fognini earned a semifinal meeting with Ferrer by taking out Santiago Giraldo 7-5, 6-4. Ferrer is 4-0 in his career against Fognini and defeated him earlier this year in Buenos Aires.

Nadal's semifinal opponent will be Nicolas Almagro, a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Horacio Zeballos.

Almagro and Nadal have met eight times and Nadal has won them all. Their last matchup came in the 2012 French Open quarterfinals.