Nadal reaches US Open semis after feasting on Fish

The reigning Wimbledon, French Open and Olympic champion from Spain ousted Fish after two hours and 40 minutes, finishing at 2:10 in the morning and thanking the hearty fans who stayed to the end of a day full of long matches.

"For sure not the best conditions to play any match," Nadal said. "Sometimes schedules are tough. Nothing to do, just accept, go on court and try my best."

Left-hander Nadal was also pleased to have reached the final four in all four Slam events this year thanks to his Flushing Meadows breakthrough.

"For me it was a very important win," Nadal said. "It's a very important thing for me to play all the semi-finals in the Grand Slams in the same year.

"I'm very happy for being the first time in the semi-finals of the US Open. For sure you want to play good in all places. In the past here I did not always do well."

"It's going to be very difficult. I'm going to have to play my best," Nadal said. "He's coming with big confidence. He's doing very well. I expect a very tough match."

Saturday's other semi-final pairing will be decided later on Thursday when four-time defending champion Federer meets Luxembourg qualifier Gilles Muller and Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic faces US eighth seed Andy Roddick.

Nadal could match Rod Laver, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer as the only men to win three Slam titles in a row in the 40-year Open era. The only Spaniard to win the US Open was Manuel Orantes in 1975, when the event was played on clay.

Nadal, 22, has won an ATP-best 41 hardcourt matches this year and seeks his ninth title of the season. He has won 54 of his past 56 matches, losing only to Juan Carlos Ferrero at Rome and Novak Djokovic at Cincinnati.

"When you are in semi-finals, it's a very good tournament," Nadal said. "I have to be happy to be in the semi-finals. Otherwise I would be pretty stupid, no? The season is long and I'm a little tired but I'm still doing pretty well."

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