After Rafael Nadal got done with his 6-4, 6-3 carving of the hard-serving American in the men's semi-final of the Pacific Life Open, little of Roddick was left intact.

This was a clear-cut beating. Roddick got brutalized. The colorful Nadal made up for the outcome of the Spanish-American war in one dominant afternoon. On this occasion, it was Spain that prevailed.

Roddick was smoked and left to burn. Under Nadal's withering onslaught and the sweltering Indian Wells heat, Andy melted like the Wicked Witch of the West.

To say that Nadal had a tour de force performance wouldn't do him justice. He was locked in and loaded. He found a zone of excellence in which he rarely made a mistake and lived in it virtually the entire match. Nadal located his groove and rode it for all it was worth.

It's hard to imagine the 20-year old lefty playing any better. It seemed as if everything he tried, clicked with near perfection. The word unstoppable came to mind as one witnessed Nadal's utter brilliance on the court.

"Rafa", a catchy and affectionate nickname that Nadal answers to, was equal parts executioner and artist, bludgeoner and craftsman.

Unfortunately for Roddick, he happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Little did Andy know that when he stepped onto the court on this alternately bright and overcast day, he'd run into an absolute buzzsaw. By the time the match had concluded, Roddick had the look of a sacrificial lamb.

Befitting a virtuoso, it seemed like there wasn't anything Nadal couldn't do. When he wasn't hitting forehand smashes down the line, he was chipping exquisite drop shots that landed with delicacy and precision.

When he wasn't ripping amazing winners while on the run, he was tracking down balls that appeared impossible to reach.

"Rafa's" serve comes at you with more than ample heat and a slice and spin that keeps you guessing. Roddick was kept totally off balance and because of that,  Andy never came within a whiff of breaking Nadal.

Nadal blasted so many passing shots past his opponent, Roddick appeared flat-footed, paralyzed and at a loss. And on the few occasions that Roddick tried  to come to the net, "Rafa" scorched him, making him pay dearly for attempting such a futile tactic.

This was a spectacular all-around performance that featured Nadal's entire arsenal. Roddick was simply overwhelmed by the myriad of weapons that kept exploding around him.

Very early in the match, Roddick looked competitive but once Nadal started finding the range with his heavy ground strokes, the 23-year old resident of Austin was doomed.

Once under the gun, Roddick got impatient, seemed anxious and quickly lost his focus.

Trying to force the issue, he unwisely began going for more aces and as a result, his first serve percentage plummeted. Though a number of the eye-popping rockets coming off his racket registered on the radar gun  in excess of 140 mph, not nearly enough of them found the mark. With Roddick's strong suit negated, an emboldened Nadal gladly feasted on numerous second serves.

Throw in plenty of unforced errors and the rout was on. At the end, it was almost as if Roddick was playing with a ping pong paddle.

For the animated and charismatic Nadal, his superb effort last Saturday served as another ominous warning for his fellow ATP pros. Once thought to be primarily a clay court wonder, Nadal is now making significant noise on the hard and fast surfaces. And let's not forget, "Rafa" is no slouch on grass either as evidenced by his runner-up finish at Wimbledon last year.

Not yet even old enough to drink in the U.S., Nadal is nowhere close to reaching his prime. Already possessed of a world of upside and with plenty of time to improve, mature and fine-tune his game, the thought of how good Nadal can be in three or four years is downright scary.

The No. 1 ranked player in the world  Roger Federer may not be quaking in his boots over Nadal's continued emergence but there seems little doubt that "Rafa", at No. 2 , is closing the gap between them. And remember, in head-to-head battles, Nadal has gotten the best of the  Swiss star, by a count of 6 to 3.

In addition to his dynamic tennis skills, what makes Nadal even more appealing is that he exudes so much personality, starting with his dress, to his gestures, down to his intriguing idiosyncrasies.

On Saturday, Nadal was a fashion statement in blue with his muscle shirt, bandana and shoes all bathed in the aforementioned color. Only his signature pirate pants (white) had a different hue.

Incidentally, the logo on Rafa's shoes was a bull's head which was extremely fitting because what he did to Riddick qualified as a genuine goring.

Nadal has rapidly become a fan favorite because he can be a fiery sort and is not one to hold back on his emotions. When he does something particularly noteworthy or impressive, he'll pump his fist emphatically and transform his face into a picture determination and defiance.

And not only do you get to see Nadal but you get to hear him as well. "Rafa's" an accomplished grunter whose vocal emissions seem to rise and fall with the importance of  a given shot or point.

Finally, you can't help but be fascinated by Nadal's noticeable quirks. After what seems like every point, the Spaniard will go through a total toweling off, starting with one forehand, then to the forehead, back to the other forearm and eventually finishing with a swipe of the handle of his racket.

"Rafa" also has the rather indelicate habit of picking at his backside.  It's hard to ascertain whether it's his distinctive pirate pants or something else that keeps bunching up on him but whatever, he's constantly pulling at something.

After witnessing Nadal tugging at his pants more than a few times, a patron was moved to shout out, "Get some boxers!"  Those that heard the comment, laughed uproariously.  But to Roddick, Nadal was no laughing matter.  The punishment Nadal laid on Andy was no joke.

After watching Nadal's stellar performance, you got the distinct feeling you were observing impending greatness, a precursor of things to come.  What the Spaniard produced was truly splendor on the court.  "Rafa's" effort was as rousing and remarkable as it was cold blooded.