Mardy Fish beats Rafael Nadal in Cincinnati Open

Mardy Fish has beaten Rafael Nadal in straight sets to reach the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters.

The American took advantage of the world number two's unusually wayward forehand to claim the first set 6-3.

Nadal, who was involved in a tense three set encounter with Fernando Verdasco yesterday, failed to produce his best tennis and lost the second set 6-4.

Seventh seed Fish will now face Andy Murray after the Brit's straight sets defeat of Gilles Simon.