2 Apr 2011

Federer-Nadal sem-final in Miami

12:36 pm on 2 April 2011

Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer will meet in the semi-finals at the Miami Masters after the old rivals advanced to the last four in contrasting fashions.

Federer was gifted his spot after Gilles Simon retired with a stiff neck six minutes into their match, after the world number one Nadal battled to a three set win over Tomas Berdych.

Simon was booed off the court but said he had suffered a recurrence of a niggling back injury during the warm-up.

Federer sympathised with the Frenchman, who'd beaten him twice in the three previous meetings, and said he didn't deserve the crowd's reaction.