The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : It’s Nadal vs Federer

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It’s Nadal vs Federer

MONTE CARLO: Rafael Nadal dominated Nikolay Davydenko in beating him 6-3, 6-2 on Saturday to move within one victory of a historic fourth straight title at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Nadal improved to 3-1 over Russia’s Davydenko, as the top four players in the world contested in the semifinals together for the first time since Cincinnati in 1999.

Meanwhile, World No. 1 Roger Federer reached the final when Serbian Novak Djokovic pulled out of their semifinal. The Swiss top seed was leading 6-3, 3-2 when Djokovic retired.

He will face Rafael Nadal in the final.

Davydenko’s clever angles and ability to sustain rallies troubled Nadal, but the Russian was unable to take his chances, converting only one of five break points. In contrast, Nadal broke Davydenko five times from seven chances.

Fourth-seeded Mark Knowles and Mahesh Bhupathi advanced to their fourth final in their past five tournaments by defeating Jeff Coetzee and Wesley Moodie 6-0, 7-5 on Saturday.

They had beaten Simon Aspelin and Julien Knowle in the quarterfinals on Friday. The quarterfinal victory over the fifth seeds marked Bhupathi’s 500th career victory in doubles.

The results: Semifinals: Rafael Nadal bt Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-2; Roger Federer bt Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-2 (retd.).

Doubles: Semifinals: Mahesh Bhupathi & Paul Hanley bt Jeff Coetzee & Wesley Moodie 6-0, 7-5.

Quarterfinals: Mahesh Bhupathi & Paul Hanley bt Simon Aspelin & Julien Knowle 6-2, 6-3. — Agencies

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