Nadal beats Gulbis, advances to Qatar Open semis

World number one Rafael Nadal has advanced to the Qatar Open semi-finals after beating Lativian Ernests Gulbis 7-5 6-4, continuing his smooth start to the 2014 season.

World number one Rafael Nadal has advanced to the Qatar Open semi-finals after beating Lativian Ernests Gulbis 7-5 6-4, continuing his smooth start to the 2014 season.

The Spaniard, who won the French and US Opens last year after a long injury lay-off, will play Peter Gojowczyk next after the German qualifier's 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-5) victory over compatriot Dustin Brown.

According to the BBC, the Spaniard, who trailed 3-0 in the second set in Doha before fighting back to win, said that he is focusing on winning at Doha, instead of raising his hopes for the Australian Open.

The report mentioned that Gojowczyk is ranked 161 places below Nadal and had only won one match on the ATP World Tour (external) before Doha.

On the other side of the draw, Florian Mayer, who beat Romania's Victor Hanescu 6-4 6-7 (8-10) 6-4, will face Gael Monfils in the last four after the Frenchman saw off Germany's Daniel Brands 6-2 6-1, the report added.