French Open tennis champion Rafael Nadal of Spain has beaten Argentina's Mariano Puerta in straight sets to reach the semifinals of the Rogers Cup hard-court tournament in Montreal, Canada.
Nadal, the top seed, eliminated the eighth-seeded Argentine in straight sets, 6-3, 6-1. The 19-year-old Spaniard next faces Frenchman Paul-Henri Mathieu, who ousted Slovakia's Karol Beck (6-1, 6-2.).
Later, American veteran Andre Agassi of the United States plays Gaston Gaudio of Argentina while Dominik Hrbaty of Slovakia takes on Britain's Greg Rusedski.
The hard-court tournament is a key warm-up for the last major tournament of the year, the U.S. Open, which starts August 29 in New York.
