Nadal Maintains Monte Run

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Rafa and Novak in Monte Final

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will face each other in Sunday's Monte Carlo Masters final after defeating Gilles Simon and Tomas Berdych respectively.

World number one Djokovic saw off Berdych 4-6 6-3 6-2 after struggling with his forehand in the early stages.

Nadal's 6-3 6-4 victory over Simon was a tight contest that featured several typically lengthy clay-court rallies.

Nadal, who has now won 41 consecutive matches at Monaco, is aiming for his eighth straight Monte Carlo title.

Berdych, who defeated Andy Murray in his quarter-final on Friday, claimed a tight first set against Djokovic as blustery conditions made play challenging.

A disgruntled Djokovic, who has played on in the tournament despite suffering the death of his grandfather on Thursday, rallied in the second set.

The Serb world number one then ensured the win in comprehensive fashion, powering past Berdych to reach Sunday's final.

"It's an ultimate challenge," said Djokovic, who lost the 2009 final to the Spaniard. "I need to play well from the first to the last point - I cannot have ups and downs. I cannot afford that against Rafa, but why not believe that I can win?"

Nadal seized early initiative in his semi-final against local favourite Simon, grabbing opportunities to break his opponent's serve while displaying his usual aggressive playing style.

The Spaniard hit 17 winners to Simon's 10, and converted seven break point opportunities to his opponent's zero on his way to an assured win.

Nadal is unbeaten since 2005 in the event, and has reached the 2012 final without dropping a set.

"To be in the final without losing a set, it means a lot to start another clay season with a final," said Nadal. "Now remains the most difficult thing."

The final takes place on Sunday.

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Murray Bows out to Berdych

World No. 7 Tomas Berdych reached the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters semi-finals for the second time on Friday after rallying from a set down to defeat No. 4-ranked Andy Murray 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.

The Czech player also reached the last four at the Monte-Carlo Country Club in 2007 (l. to Nadal) and goes onto face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic for a place in the final. He has won two ATP World Tour clay-court titles in his career, most recently at the BMW Open in Munich in 2009.

Looking ahead to the clash with Djokovic, Berdych said, "I'm going to do everything the same like I do before every game. It's a day to play the No. 1 player in the world, which is always great. It's a semi-final, which is fantastic.

"But still, I want to play my best tennis and I want to do well. I just want to focus for myself and do the best on court," added Berdych. "The last time I played him [at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in November], I needed just one point to beat him and finish it. Didn't happen. So now could be another try."....

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Djokovic Wins Emotional Tie

Novak Djokovic overcame the death of his grandfather, and a determined challenge from Alexandr Dolgopolov, to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.

The world number one learned of the bereavement just hours before his match and had seemed clearly affected by the news as he lost the first set in sloppy fashion against his Ukrainian opponent.

However, he regrouped well and ultimately clinched a 2-6 6-1 6-4 triumph to progress at the clay-court tournament.

Walking on to court with his head bowed, Djokovic cut a wistful-looking figure and struggled to find any momentum early on.

He missed a number of easy shots and twice lost his serve as Dolgopolov took advantage of his poor form to edge a set ahead.

But an early break in the second helped the Serb regroup and suddenly it was Dolgopolov whose groundstrokes were becoming increasingly erratic.

With Djokovic having levelled the match with some ease, the players were forced off in the early stages of the decider as heavy rain came down.

On their return the set stayed on serve until Djokovic claimed the decisive break in the ninth game before seeing out the contest on his own delivery.

The world number one crouched down on his haunches after sealing victory and then signalled to the sky with both hands for a few moments before making his way to the net.

Djokovic next faces Dutchman Robin Haase who convincingly beat Thomaz Bellucci 6-2 6-3 - the Brazilian unable to build on his impressive straight sets win over David Ferrer on Wednesday.

Reigning champion Rafael Nadal enjoyed a much more serene passage than Djokovic into the final eight as he swept aside Mikhail Kukushkin for the loss of just two games.

The Spaniard dominated from the off and needed just one hour to ease past the Kazakh as he wrapped up a one-sided 6-1 6-1 triumph.

There will be an all-French quarter-final on Friday as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon both came through their third-round clashes.

Tsonga proved too strong for Fernando Verdasco as he beat the Spanish 13th seed 7-6 (9-7) 6-2, while Simon got the better of Serbia's Janko Tipsarevic in a see-saw battle, eventually emerging a 6-0 4-6 6-1 victor.

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Djokovic Wins Comfortably in Monte

World number one Novak Djokovic began his latest attempt to win a first Monte Carlo Masters with a comfortable second-round win against Andreas Seppi.

The 24-year-old secured a 6-1 6-4 victory in one hour 27 minutes in his debut clay court outing of the season.

"It takes about a week to get used to the clay," he said. "I had a tough match but I'm glad to get through."

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Nadal needs Monte Matches

Rafael Nadal hopes a problematic knee will not jeopardise his bid for an eighth consecutive Monte Carlo Masters title this week.

The world number two, who suffers from tendonitis, had to pull out of a semi-final clash with Andy Murray at the Miami Masters in March.

He has only just returned to training after missing two weeks.

"It needs time to see how it is when I play to the top level...when I put all my efforts on the knee," he said.

But he added: "The knee is well. I'm able to practise in the right condition and that's the most important thing. It seems like I'm able to practise with no impediments."

The 25-year-old Spaniard, who has not won a title since last year's French Open, has a bye in the opening round and his second-round match against Jarkko Nieminen will be played on Wednesday.

"I started practising four days ago, it's 15 days off without a chance to practise physically because I could not move my knees.

"I need to spend time on courts, I need matches."

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