Rafael Nadal stayed on course for his 12th Barcelona Open title with a 6-1 6-4 win over British number two Cameron Norrie in the quarter-finals.
The 34-year-old had far too much skill and guile on his favoured clay surface.
The world number three swept through the opening set but although Norrie made more of a fight of it in the second, Nadal was too good.
“I played well at the beginning then I stopped a little bit in the second,” said the Spaniard.
“I need to hold the level of intensity for the whole match when it comes to the semi-final.”
He will face either compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta or Argentina’s fourth seed Diego Schwartzman in the last four while the other semi-final pits Greek second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas against Italian Jannik Sinner.
