• Rome Masters

Nadal battles past Gulbis to set up Ferrer final

Rafael Nadal continued his unbeaten run on clay in 2010 © Getty Images

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Defending champion Rafael Nadal survived the greatest test of his dominance on clay so far this year to book his place in the final of the Rome Masters.

The No. 3 seed battled past the in-form Ernests Gulbis to seal a 6-4 3-6 6-4 victory. Gulbis, who had already knocked out world No. 1 Roger Federer in the second round, refused to back down as he became the first man to take a set off the Spaniard on clay this season.

Nadal started the match with his usual fury and stunned his opponent by taking an immediate break of serve. But if the Spaniard expected his opponent to roll over, he was mistaken and he was forced to save break point on his second service game to maintain his advantage.

After sealing the opening set the world No. 3 looked to be on course for a comfortable victory, but the Latvian, who now has a 23-22 career record on clay, stormed to a 3-0 lead in the second set before holding on to draw level.

Nadal continued to pile on the pressure, desperately searching for a way through, and after Gulbis saved five break points, Nadal made no mistake as he grabbed the first of three match points on the Gulbis serve to move through to the final.

Nadal tipped the big-serving Latvian youngster to become a top-ten player. "He was really difficult to play against," Nadal said. "All the time he was serving at 210, 215, 216, 217 (kph). A player with this serve can be top 10 for sure."

David Ferrer has won more matches than any other player on the ATP Tour this season © Getty Images

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Nadal set up a final clash with fellow Spaniard David Ferrer after the No. 13 seed produced a clay-court comeback of the highest order to emphatically end Fernando Verdasco's quest for a third final in as many weeks.

Ferrer, who is the winning-most player on the ATP Tour this season, trailed 5-1 in the first-set but showed his fighting spirit as he won six consecutive games to take the first set. Ferrer dominated the second set from the start to seal his first appearance in a Masters event final.

Verdasco, who had lost just two matches of 16 on clay coming into the match, started powerfully and broke Ferrer in the fourth and sixth games as he built up a strong advantage. Ferrer, the conjurer of Andy Murray's third-round exit, looked shell-shocked but rallied to hold his serve and establish more of a foothold in the set.

The pressure of serving for the set seemed to melt Verdasco's confidence and his game crumbled horribly as he made began to make several unforced errors. Ferrer moved in and took full advantage with a string of well-timed put-aways off both wings to move to set-point. That set-point portrayed Ferrer's qualities perfectly. An athletic return enabled him to work his way back into the point before a booming forehand to the left corner secured the set.

Verdasco, winner of last week's Barcelona Open, fought hard under difficult circumstances and broke back at 2-0 down in the second. Ferrer's angled attacks were too much though and Verdasco eventually succumbed to a 7-5 6-3 defeat to the former world No. 4.

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