Rafael Nadal will have the chance to gain a measure of revenge over Fabio Fognini after the duo set up a semi-final meeting at the China Open.

Nine-time French Open champion Nadal came from a set down on Friday to beat Jack Sock 3-6 6-4 6-3, before Fognini triumphed 6-1 2-6 6-2 in a topsy-turvy encounter with Pablo Cuevas.

Fognini has defeated Nadal in three of their four meetings this season, including a memorable five-set victory at the US Open, and the two will meet once again to contest a place in the Beijing final.

"He's a great player," said the Spaniard of his next opponent. "If I am able to play my best, I am going to have my chances. If not, it's going to be tough.

"Sport is simple. The winner is the player who plays better. Fognini played better in the three matches that he beat me."

The winner of the tie between Nadal and Fognini appears likely to face the daunting task of stopping Novak Djokovic, after the world number one maintained his perfect record in Beijing with a 6-2 6-2 demolition of John Isner.

Djokovic has now won his last 23 sets at the China Open and did not face a single break point as he cruised to a 27th straight victory in the ATP 500 event.

However, the Serb will come up against another in-form player in the semi-finals, Nadal's countryman David Ferrer.

Ferrer, who secured the Malaysian Open title last week to boost his hopes of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals, had little trouble in breezing to a 6-3 6-1 success over Lu Yen-hsun on Friday.

However, the world number eight has lost his last nine meetings with Djokovic.