Nadal beats Blake in quarters at Miami tennis

WASHINGTON, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Rafael Nadal beat James Blake 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday after converting only four of 19 break-point chances.

It was the Spaniard's second victory over Blake, following his quarterfinal win over the American at Indian Wells.

Prior to that, Blake had won the first three career meetings between the two. In the semi-finals, Nadal will face either Czech Tomas Berdych or Russian Igor Andreev, who were to play on Wednesday night.

Nadal's first service break came with a ferocious backhand passing shot for a 5-3 lead in the second set. He broke three more times in the final set.

Ranked No. 2, Nadal is seeking his first tournament title this year and his first title at Miami.