Nadal beats Nieminen to reach semi-final

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) Second seed Rafael Nadal ground down Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-3 6-4 6-4 today to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals and a meeting with Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis.

The match was held over from yesterday because of rain.

Triple French Open champion Nadal, looking more and more comfortable on unfamiliar grass courts, wore down Nieminen's resistance in long baseline rallies, breaking his serve in each set.

The Finn, seeded 22, tried to mix up his shots and volleyed successfully when he could get to the net. He saved a match point with a forehand down the line.

But Nadal's movement and retrieval skills were too much and the Mallorcan reached his first Wimbledon semi-final after two hours 15 minutes with an uncharacteristic volley on his second match point.

Reuters AY DB2037