Rafael Nadal reached his second straight Masters final with a gripping 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-3 win over fellow 18-year-old Richard Gasquet in Monaco. The Spaniard will meet Argentina's Guillermo Coria in Sunday's final.
The 11th seed had to be at his best to see off Frenchman Gasquet, who was in the swashbuckling form that saw him stun Roger Federer on Friday.
Nadal will now try and win his first Masters title, having squandered a two-set lead against Federer in Miami.
Coria remained on course to defend his Monte Carlo Masters title with a 6-2 7-5 win over former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero.
The 2004 French Open finalist raced through the first set as Ferrero committed a string of errors.
But in an entertaining second set between the two clay-court specialists, Coria fought back from 4-0 down to seal a straight-sets win.
And Nadal believes Gasquet was eventually worn down by the strength of his own hitting.
Nadal said: "Gasquet is an unbelievable player and has beaten Federer. He became very tired because he hits the ball so hard.
"But I am not the best. Coria is the champion here, he lost the finals in Hamburg and at the French Open.
"And there is still Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya, Gaston Gaudio, these are the best players on clay."
MMIX
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