French Open champion Gaston Gaudio underlined his status as the favourite for the Swedish Open title with a comprehensive 6-2, 6-3 quarter-final win over Spanish teenager Rafael Nadal on Friday.
"The result doesn't tell the truth about the match," second seed Gaudio said. "It was a tough match and a good win for me."
Playing his first tournament since fracturing a bone in his left foot in April, the Spaniard struggled to find depth in his normally powerful shots.
Argentine Gaudio took control from the outset by breaking Nadal twice in the opening set.
Nadal kept pace in the second set until 3-3 but Gaudio proved too strong as he bagged three games in a row to clinch the match.
In the semi-finals Gaudio takes on Swedish hope Robin Soderling, who prevented the tournament from becoming an all-South American affair by beating fourth-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 6-3, 6-7, 6-2.
"Soderling is playing fantastically well," said Gaudio. "I saw the third set against Chela today and it was really good tennis."
Defending champion Mariano Zabaleta of Argentina outclassed Spaniard Alberto Martin 6-1, 6-2 for a place in the last four against Chilean sixth seed Fernando Gonzalez, who disposed of Argentine Juan Monaco 6-4, 6-4.
