Nadal nears career grand slam

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 (UPI) -- Rafael Nadal earned a semifinal berth at the U.S. Open Thursday and moved within two wins of completing a career grand slam.

The world's top-ranked player downed Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 in the tournament's first all-Spanish quarterfinal, setting up a semifinal meeting with Mikhail Youzhny.

Youzhny, playing in his first major championship quarterfinal, survived a 4-hour match to defeat Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

In the other semifinal, Roger Federer will take on Novak Djokovic. The semis will be held Saturday and the championship match will be conducted Sunday.

Nadal has won the Australian Open once, the French Open five times and Wimbledon twice, but he has never reached the finals of the U.S. Open.

A win in this tournament would make him the seventh man to claim all four majors in a career. He would join Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi and Federer. Nine women have pulled off the feat, most recently Serena Williams.

Nadal overcame an early service break in the first set and eventually won 84 percent of the points in which he put his first serve in play. Verdasco had only one break opportunity during the entire match, which he converted.

Nadal is seeking his third consecutive major title, having defeated Robin Soderling in the finals of the French Open this year and Tomas Berdych in the title match at Wimbledon.