BEIJING, (Reuters) – World number two Rafa Nadal  stopped Marat Safin’s Beijing revival in its tracks yesterday  with a clinical 6-3 6-1 victory to reach the semi-finals of the  $6.6-million China Open.  

Spain’s Nadal, playing his first tournament since returning  from an abdominal injury, dominated a brief but richly  entertaining encounter against fellow former world number one  Safin, who is retiring at the end of the season.  

Elena Dementieva earlier joined the exodus of top women’s  seeds when she was upset 7-5 6-3 by Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska  in the quarter-finals of the WTA’s new “crown jewel” tournament.  

Safin had served up 12 aces in his upset of seventh seed  Fernando Gonzalez on Thursday but Nadal faced only one from the  big Russian in front of a packed centre court.  

Robbed of his serve, no amount of racket twirling and  delicate net play could keep Safin in the match and Nadal  converted his one break point in the first set and raced away  with the second.