Rafael Nadal moved closer to his first trophy in almost a year with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Spanish compatriot David Ferrer to reach another final of the Monte Carlo Masters on Saturday

Nadal, Verdasco set up all-Spanish final

Rafael Nadal moved closer to his first trophy in almost a year with a 6-2, 6-3 defeat of Spanish compatriot David Ferrer to reach another final of the Monte Carlo Masters on Saturday.

Djokovic committed 42 unforced errors to help seal his own fate. Verdasco fired his fourth ace for a match point and then finished off the Serb as Djokovic lifted a backhand return into the net to lose after 92 minutes.
Nadal's last title came over Djokovic in the Rome final last May.

The Spaniard will be competing in his first title shot since early January in Doha, where he lost to Nikolay Davydenko.

"For sure to be in the final of Monte Carlo is a dream," said Nadal.

"I will try my best to try to play my best match tomorrow."

Nadal was broken in the penultimate game, up a set and a break as he was when he lost Masters 1000 semi-finals last month in Indian Wells and Miami. He quickly broke Ferrer back to earn the win in 75 minutes with 14 winners and 15 unforced errors.

"I'm playing very well, I had a very good match today. The last two games, I was a little bit more nervous than usual because I lost two semi-finals in a row, in Indian Wells and Miami. But for the rest, I think I played a very, very complete match.

"It's great to start the clay season like this. I'm playing well and I'm very happy with my game."

Nadal improved to 10-3 over Ferrer, playing his first semi-final in the principality. He stnad 9-0 against Verdasco, 12th in the world.

Nadal broke twice in a brief opening set, with Ferrer again trailing to after Nadal broke for 2-1 in the second set.
The Spanish second seed improved his record to 20-4 on the season and marked his 31st straight victory in Monte Carlo, where he last lost a match in 2003 while not playing in 2004 due to injury.

Victory continues Spanish domination in the principality, with an Iberian in the final for a sixth straight year and eighth in the past nine (Argentine Guillermo Coria won in 2004). Before Nadal, Spain's Juan Carlos Ferrero claimed title honours in 2002 and 2003.

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