Spanish standouts Juan Carlos Ferrero and young gun Rafael Nadal took vastly contrasting paths into the semi-finals of the 850,000-euro Barcelona Open here on Friday. The revitalised Ferrero's 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over reigning Roland Garros holder Gaston Gaudio stretched for nearly three hours. That marathon effort was counter-balanced by a quick-fire 6-2, 3-0 win from 18-year-old Monte Carlo champion Nadal as Argentine Agustin Calleri quit with back troubles after 53 minutes.
The burly South American paid the price for a hard week on the clay of the real Club de Tenis, winning his previous three matches with difficulty, playing a total of six draining tiebreakers.
Coming into the quarter-final mis-match, Calleri had spent around seven hours on court.
Eighth seed Nadal, by contrast, was feeling fresh and eager five days after becoming the youngest man in 15 years to win a Masters Series title through his Monte Carlo triumph over Guillermo Coria.
"From the beginning I had an easy match," said the country's newest tennis icon, who has lost just seven games this week.
"I feel sorry for Calleri, we are friends, but he was very tired. Now that I'm into the semis, I'm looking forward to try and win this tournament."
Nadal will face off Saturday against Czech 11th seed Radek Stepanek, who ended the run of Swiss qualifier Stanislas Wawrinka 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Stepanek, the Milan singles finalist, improved to 19-10 on the season.
The unseeded Ferrero hammered home his compelling assertion that his best days on clay still lie ahead after nearly falling out of the Top 100 in 2004 due to injury and illness.
"I feel very good and I played a good match," said the 25-year-old, the 2003 Roland Garros champion. "I'm very happy with my level today.
"It's always a tough match against Gaston, difficult and long. The fans may have thought that the old Juan Carlos had disappeared, but I'm back, I'm the same player I was."
The struggle between Ferrero and Gaudio was short on aces - five in total - but the see-saw affair didn't skimp on unconverted break points.
Ferrero, a former world number one whose current 58th is due for a sharp rise after semis at home and last weekend in Monte Carlo, was successful on just four of 13 chances.
Argentine Gaudio converted a mere three of his 18. The loss was a setback for the South American, who has now lost four of ten in his career series with the Spaniard.
Ferrero plays for the final against Russian seventh seed Nikolay Davydenko, who knocked out Max Mirnyi of Belarus, 6-4, 6-4.
COLLATED RESULTS (denotes seed):
(Quarter-finals): Nikolay Davydenko (RUS x7) bt Max Mirnyi (BLR) 6-4, 6-4; Juan Carlos Ferrero (ESP) bt Gaston Gaudio (ARG x2) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Rafael Nadal (ESP x8) bt Agustin Calleri (ARG) 6-2, 3-0, retired; Radek Stepanek (CZE x11) bt Stanislas Wawrinka (SWI) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.