Rafael Nadal moved closer to landing a seventh title of the year as he reached the semi-finals of the PTT Thailand Open.
The Spaniard brushed past Russian Mikhail Kukushkin in their first career meeting, winning 6-2 6-3, and is the only seed remaining in the last four at the Bangkok tournament.
Nadal's compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez awaits in Satruday's semi-finals, after knocking out Latvian fourth seed Ernests Gulbis, winning 7-6 (7/4) 4-6 6-3.
Third seed Jurgen Melzer also perished in the quarter-finals, the Austrian losing 6-3 7-6 (7/4) to Finland's Jarkko Nieminen.
Nieminen will meet Benjamin Becker next, after the 29-year-old rolled to a 6-4 6-2 victory over his fellow German Daniel Brands.
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