Reigning champion, Andy Murray held his nerve to defeat local favorite Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4 in the semi-final of the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday to book his place in the final.

Murray had to dig deep against the number 5 seed, who came to Madrid after triumphs in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, and who counted on the support of the vast majority of fans in Madrid' s Caja Magica.

Murray' s power on his serve was the decisive factor in a match in which he not only fired off eight aces, but also successfully defended 11 out of 13 break points.

Nadal eventually paid the price for not taking the chances he had during the game, while Murray was able to keep his calm and avoid unforced errors at key moments.

He took the first set by breaking Nadal' s set in decisive style and looked as if he was going to run away with the second set as he raced into a 5-2 lead.

However, Nadal was able to break his serve to move to 5-4 before Murray once again gave a demonstration of his power to again take the Spaniard' s service game and with it the match.

The Scot will face either Novak Djokovic or Kai Nishikori, who play their semi-final late on Saturday night.