Britain's Andy Murray earned his first-ever win on clay against Tomas Berdych to reach the last four ©Getty Images

Defending champion Andy Murray claimed his first-ever victory on clay over Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic to set up a repeat of last year's final against Rafael Nadal in the last four at the Mutua Madrid Open at the Caja Mágica today.

The Briton, currently ranked at number two in the world, swept aside Berdych, who had long been his nemesis on the surface, with a confident 6-3, 6-2 success.

Murray, a two-time Grand Slam winner, was in superb form throughout as he dominated proceedings from start to finish, winning 92 per cent of points on his first serve as the eighth seed struggled to get a grip on the match.

The 28-year-old ensured the pressure never relented and progressed to the semi-final without facing any break points and will now go up against 14-time Grand Slam champion and home favourite Nadal for a place in the tournament's showpiece encounter.

The Spaniard, bidding for a third straight title following recent triumphs in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, needed three sets to edge past Portugal's Joao Sousa.

Nadal, seeded fifth, came firing out of the blocks and won the opening set without dropping a game before the unfancied Portuguese hit back to send the contest to a decider.

14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal awaits in the semi-final after he beat Joao Sousa
14-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal awaits in the semi-final after he beat Joao Sousa ©Getty Images

The 29-year-old from Mallorca managed to brush off the disappointment of losing the second set as he clinched the third to wrap up a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win.

"You prepare to play against the best clay court player of all time and get yourself ready for that challenge mentally," Murray told BBC Sport.

"I practised with him in Mallorca for a few days, which was good.

"It's great practice, but you can see some things, as well."

Elsewhere in the men's draw of a tournament that is an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event, Japan's Kei Nishikori squeezed through to the semi-finals with a hard-fought 6-7, 7-6, 6-3 victory over unpredictable Australian Nick Kyrgios.

The sixth seed faces an arduous task if he is to reach the final, however, as he will play top seed and world number one Novak Djokovic after the Serbian came through his last eight match with Canada's Milos Raonic 6-3, 6-4.

In the women's event, Slovakia's Dominika Cibulková ended the dream run of American qualifier Louisa Chirico at the last four stage as she booked her final berth with a comprehensive 6-1, 6-1 success.

Cibulková, runner-up at the Australian Open in 2014, will face sixth seed Simona Halep after the Romanian defeated Australia's Sam Stosur 6-2, 6-0.