Nadal eases past Berdych into Madrid final

MADRID: Rafael Nadal stayed on course for a third consecutive Madrid Open title as he proved too strong for Thomas Berdych 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 on Saturday.

The Spaniard was blown away by Berdych earlier this year at the Australian Open, but extended his record for the world number seven to 7-0 on clay with some of his best tennis of the season in the second set after edging a tight first in a tie-break.

Nadal will face either a rematch of last year´s final against Kei Nishikori or world number three Andy Murray in Sunday´s final. (AFP)