NADAL STORMS INTO FINALS

Rafael Nadal beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 7-5 6-3 6-1 to reach his first Australian Open semi-final. Nadal was briefly in trouble when Nieminen had two set points at 5-4 in the first set, but two big serves from the Spaniard got him out of trouble. And despite the energetic Finn's best efforts, Nadal did not look back. Nieminen was gradually overpowered as the match wore on and Nadal sealed an easy victory in style with a smash