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Nadal and Ferrer to meet in second final in a row

Rafael Nadal notched his 500th career win with victory over Ivan Dodig © PA Photos

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World No. 1 Rafael Nadal bulldozed his way to another clay-court final, thrashing Ivan Dodig 6-3 6-2 at the Barcelona Open to set up an all-Spanish encounter against David Ferrer.

In a first-time meeting, Nadal was widely expected to dispatch his unseeded opponent with the minimum of fuss and, when the nine-time grand slam champion broke early in the first set, the writing appeared on the wall for Dodig.

However, Dodig fired a note of caution by breaking back immediately to level at 2-2. Unfortunately for the Croat, the momentary respite only served to spur Nadal on to better things and he soon found himself a set behind.

In the second set, Nadal threatened to cut loose but Dodig served notice of his talent on the red dirt by landing another blow to break his Spanish opponent. Never one to panic, Nadal upped the ante and three breaks of serve finally saw an end to Dodig's spirited challenge and stretched Nadal's unbeaten run on clay to 33 matches.

Ferrer continued his impressive start to the season, swatting aside the challenge of fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro to book his place in a second successive ATP final. Ferrer, who was beaten by Nadal in the Monte Carlo Masters last week, made his greater experience count in the key moments en route to a 6-3 6-4 victory.

Both players had numerous opportunities to break in the opening set and, despite losing his serve on one occasion, Ferrer returned with venom to force two breaks of his own. The second set was a far cagier affair, with both men looking to assert their dominance on serve. However, Ferrer was the more aggressive and he deservedly made the crucial breakthrough which was enough to seal victory, a win that gives him a chance to avenge his recent defeat to Nadal.

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