JOIN USThe Spanish world number one, who replaced Federer at the top of the rankings, made the most of his opponent’s lack of consistency to set up a meeting in Sunday’s final against second seed Novak Djokovic or Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci.
While the match under the closed roof of a packed Magic Box arena lacked the spine-tingling drama of previous showdowns, some of the shot-making, incuding one incredible exchange in the final game.
The heavyweight pair, who own 26 Grand Slam singles titles between them, had met in the last two Madrid finals, with Federer winning in 2009 and Nadal gaining revenge last year.
Nadal is bidding for a third claycourt title in a month after he won back-to-back at the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open in April. The 24-year-old Mallorcan’s win on Saturday was his 37th consecutive victory on the red dirt since falling to Swede Robin Soderling in the fourth round of the 2009 French Open.
Azarenka faces Kvitova
World number five Victoria Azarenka ended Julia Goerges's fine run on clay to claim a place in the final when she swept past the unseeded German 6-4, 6-2 on Saturday. The Belarusian, who won back-to-back titles this year in Miami and Marbella, claimed one break of serve in the first set and two in the second and will play Petra Kvitova in Sunday's title match. Czech 16th seed Kvitova upset an erratic Li Na of China 6-3, 6-1 in Saturday's second semifinal.
Bopanna-Qureshi exit
Indian Davis Cupper Rohan Bopanna and his partner Aisam-ul-haq Qureshi, seeded fourth, were sent packing as the American pair of John Isner and Sam Querrey edged them past via a super tie-breaker. The Indo-Pak combine lost 7-6 (8-6), 4-6, 3-10 in the men’s doubles quarterfinals on Friday.