Maria Sharapova booked her place in the last four of the Madrid Open after edging a tight quarter-final against second seed Li Na 2-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3.

Sharapova, the eighth seed, showed all her battling qualities on the clay at the futuristic Magic Box arena to edge world number two Li and set up a semi-final clash with third-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska.

The four-time Grand Slam champion was beaten by Serena Williams in Madrid in the last two years, including in the 2013 final.

But her chances of going one better this year were boosted by the news that Williams was forced to withdraw before her quarter-final against Czech fifth seed Petra Kvitova due to a thigh injury.

Li had a service break and 4-3 up in the second set, but Sharapova broke back to force a tiebreak, which she then won, before clinching the final set.

In the men's draw, number one seed and home favorite Rafael Nadal enjoyed another comfortable win on his way to the semifinals.

Nadal faced his toughest match to date against number six seed Tomas Berdych and had few problems in logging a 6-4, 6-2 win in under an hour and a half.

Nadal has reached the last four without dropping a set so far and with no Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in Madrid to challenge him, it would be a brave man to bet against him winning his fourth Madrid Open title.

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