Rafael Nadal, playing his first event after a seven-month injury layoff, advanced to the semi-finals of the $410,200 Vina del Mar ATP claycourt tournament with a straight-sets win Friday. The 11-time Grand Slam champion from Spain ousted seventh-seeded countryman Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-1, 6-4. Top seed Nadal will face French third seed Jeremy Chardy -- who cruised past sixth seed Paolo Lorenzi of Italy 6-2, 6-3 -- for a place in the final. Until this week, Nadal had not played since a shock second-round exit from Wimbledon in June.