ROME MASTERS: Rampant Nadal too strong for Wawrinka

RAFAEL Nadal's 100 per cent clay court record in 2010 continued with another dominant display, swatting Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka away in Rome.

RAMPANT: Rafael Nadal is now just two wins away from a fifth Rome Masters victory in six years after breezing past Stanislas Wawrinka in Rome (Getty Images)

Nadal began the clay court season on the back of 13 straight tournaments without a trophy but he romped to victory in Monte Carlo and is now just two wins away from another title in Rome.

The Spaniard has never looked like dropping a set in the Eternal City and once more he was in imperious form, powering his way to a 6-4, 6-1 victory over the world number 26.

Seeded third in Rome, Nadal is now odds-on to scoop victory with world number one Roger Federer dumped out of the second round by Ernests Gulbis, while Fernando Verdasco sent Novak Djokovic packing at the quarter-final stage.

Nadal was not quite at his dominant best in the first set but nonetheless he had too much in his locker see off a plucky Wawrinka, taking the first set 6-4 and taking a big step towards to semi-final.

And in the second set, Nadal put the shine on an impressive victory with a ruthless break of serve in the sixth game to take a 5-1 lead, before serving his way into the last four emphatically.

Nadal, bidding for his fifth title in Rome in six years, will now face either Gulbis or compatriot Feliciano Lopez in the semis.