Murray faces Fish test

Andy Murray will meet Mardy Fish in the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati after the American bundled Rafael Nadal out of the event in straight sets.

World number four Murray, who won the competition in 2008, was not at his peak in his quarter-final but never looked in serious danger of an upset at the hands of Gilles Simon, registering a 6-3 6-3 win to reach the last four.

Looking ahead to the match, Murray said: "He's played his best tennis the last year or so. If you look at his game, it hasn't changed a whole lot. It's just confidence of winning matches and understanding how to play his game most effectively."

He added: "He's in good shape. He's been very, very consistent, which maybe he wasn't in the past. That's why his ranking has gone.

"I need to keep improving a few percent every day.''

Seventh seed Fish ousted the second seed 6-3 6-4 - his first win over Nadal in seven attempts.

"I played a couple nervous points, but I was pretty happy with the way I executed," said Fish. "A little bit of luck and a little bit of belief as well.

"(I've been) taking advantage of the opportunities, making a lot first serves in key moments, not giving away many free points.

"Look, those three guys (I've played) return extremely well, so if I don't lose serve, I am usually pretty successful."

World number one Novak Djokovic will face Tomas Berdych in the othe semi-final, after the latter dispatched reigning champion Roger Federer.