Rafael Nadal dismantles Kei Nishikori in Roland Garros quarterfinals

World No. 2 Rafael Nadal strolled into the semifinals of Roland Garros on Tuesday, overwhelming seventh seed Kei Nishikori, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. Nadal improved to 5-0 against Nishikori on clay, and 11-2 overall.

The 11-time French Open champion will clash with longtime rival Roger Federer after the 2009 winner prevailed over 2015 titlist Stan Wawrinka in an all-Swiss clash, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. The Spaniard has never lost to Federer at the French Open, claiming wins in four championships (2006, 2007, 2008 and 2011) and their first Paris meeting in the 2005 semifinals. Overall, Nadal leads their head-to-head series 23-15 but the Swiss has won their the last five encounters.

"I really expect that he is going to play aggressive, changing rhythms, going to the net. That's my feeling, that he is going try to play that way, because he's playing well and he has the tennis to make that happen," said Nadal.

"I have to be solid. I have to hit the ball strong enough to [not] allow him to do the things from good positions. I need to let him play from difficult positions, so from there, he [will] have less chances to go to the net or to play his aggressive game. If I am able to play good tennis and play well with my forehand and backhand, I hope to put him in trouble. If not, I will be in trouble."

Each time Nadal has advanced to the semifinal stage at the Paris major, he's gone on to lift the trophy in his previous 11 trips. The 33-year-old has dropped just one set in five matches thus far, to David Goffin in the third round.

In his match with Nishikori, Nadal was broken just once. He took advantage of early opportunities in each set to build leads and deflate his opponent. Nishikori entered the battle having played consecutive five-setters and showed signs of trouble with his right elbow, receiving treatment at the start of set three. To have a chance, the Japanese needed to be avoid engaging with Nadal in taxing baseline exchanges, and was unable to pull the trigger when required.

"Rafa didn't let me play how I wanted to play, and especially if I'm not fresh, it's not easy to stay with him," Nishikori said. "I thought he was playing good tennis. On a clay court it's very tough playing Rafa. He hit very heavy and he was serving well.

"He made me play every point. Even to get one game, it felt very long to get one game. Credit to him. [He is] playing great tennis this week."

Inclement weather in the area suspended the match with Nadal leading 4-2 in the third; when play resumed, Nadal was eager to make returning to the court a formality. He finished off the three-time Roland Garros quarterfinalist in one hour and 50 minutes. Nadal won 55 percent of his return points and was successful in eight of nine approaches to the net.

Catch up on Week 1 at Roland Garros on the TENNIS.com Podcast: