The Hindu : Sport / Tennis : Nadal to face Ferrer in final

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Nadal to face Ferrer in final

Barcelona: Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer have guaranteed that a Spaniard will triumph for a sixth straight year in Sunday’s Barcelona Open final after they both won their semifinal matches on Saturday.

Nadal stormed to victory in 51 minutes on Saturday, crushing the life out of German underdog Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-0 in a haze of shotmaking and controlled aggression.

Ferrer, seeded second, needed almost two hours to get past persistent Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka, 14, Switzerland, 7-6(8), 6-3.

Ferrer will be bidding for his second trophy of the season and sixth overall after winning Valencia last month.

Nadal holds a 5-3 led over his compatriot, whom he beat last week in the Monte Carlo quarterfinals.

At Munich, top-seed Paul-Henri Mathieu suffered an upset on Saturday as Italy’s Simone Bolelli booked his place in Sunday’s final with a dramatic win after a three-hour marathon battle.

The 22-year-old Italian, ranked 58th in the world, won a dramatic last set tie-break after three hours and five minutes to take the match 7-6(1), 4-6, 7-6 (4).

The results: At Barcelona: ATP Sabadell Atlantico Barcelona Open: Semifinals: Rafael Nadal bt Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-0; David Ferrer bt Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6(8), 6-3.

At Munich: ATP BMW Open: Semifinals: Fernando Gonzalez bt Younes El Aynaoui 3-6, 6-4, 6-3; Simone Bolelli bt Paul-Henri Mathieu 7-6(1), 4-6, 7-6(4).

At Prague: WTA Prague Open: Semifinals: Victoria Azarenka bt Klara Zakopalova 6-3, 6-2; Vera Zvonareva bt Katarina Srebotnik 6-2, 6-4. — Agencies

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