Rafael Nadal crushed Andy Murray, as well as the wild hype surrounding the young Briton, to romp into his third successive Wimbledon semi-final today.

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The second seeded Spaniard cruised to a 6-3 6-2 6-4 win and will face either Germany’s Rainer Schuettler or Arnaud Clement of France for a place in Sunday’s final against either Roger Federer or Marat Safin.

Four-time French Open winner Nadal, the runner-up to Federer here for the last two years, comfortably defeated the 21-year-old Briton for the fourth time in four meetings as Murray’s Centre Court party fizzled out.

“I played probably my best match against a difficult opponent,” said Nadal who sent down only 10 unforced errors.

“I was very aggressive on my forehand and backhand and had a lot of power. But I was surprised to win in straight sets and I’m happy to be in the semi-finals.”

Murray had reached the quarter-finals of a grand slam for the first time after coming from two sets down to knock out French eighth seed Richard Gasquet in a gruelling four-hour match on Monday.

But he never got out of first gear against the muscular Spaniard who wrapped up victory in just under two hours.

Murray admitted he had been outplayed.

“He played so much better than me and I didn’t play my best which is disappointing,” said the 13th seed.

“His forehand is ridiculous especially when he plays so close to the line. I was rushed on every point and it’s amazing how fast he moves around the court and how much control he has over his serve.

“I was just trying to hang in there. It’s tough to be aggressive against him. He has a great chance of winning here. He’s playing better than last year.”

A wild smash from Murray gave Nadal the only break of the first set for a 5-3 lead which allowed the world number two to secure the opener.

A double fault handed Nadal a 2-1 lead in the second set which was backed up by another break in the seventh game as the Centre Court, so buoyant on Monday, feared the worst.

Murray ran out of steam and a break in the seventh game of the third set proved decisive and the tie was over when the Scotsman hit a weary return long.

Men’s consecutive grand slam semi-final appearances in open era (1968-present):
17 – Roger Federer, 2004 Wimbledon to 2008 Wimbledon
10 – *Ivan Lendl, 1985 US Open to 1988 Australian Open
6 – Ivan Lendl, 1983 Wimbledon to 1984 US Open
5 – Boris Becker, 1990 Wimbledon to 1991 Wimbledon
5 – Novak Djokovic, 2007 French Open to 2008 French Open

© AP 2012

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