Monte Carlo Masters
Venue: Monte Carlo Country Club Date: 10-18 April
Coverage: Reports on the BBC Sport website and 5 live. Also live on Sky Sports

Nadal has lost 13 games in four matches so far this week

Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco both produced impressive displays to reach the final of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Nadal maintained his superb start to the clay-court season with victory over David Ferrer in the first semi-final.

The defending champion won 6-2 6-3 to take his unbeaten run in Monte Carlo to 31 matches as he closes in on winning the title for a sixth consecutive year.

Fellow Spaniard Verdasco dominated top seed Novak Djokovic throughout to secure a 6-2 6-2 victory over the Serb.

Nadal will go into the final as the clear favourite as he seeks his first title since beating Djokovic in Rome last May.

The second seed has lost just 13 games in four matches this week and has a 9-0 winning record over his fellow left-hander.

I want to be the one to break Nadal's streak Fernando Verdasco

"I am playing very well," said Nadal. "The last two games, I was a little bit more nervous than usual because I lost two semi-finals in a row, in Indian Wells and Miami. But for the rest, I played a very complete match."

However, Verdasco believes he is playing well enough to trouble Nadal.

"I want to be the one to break Nadal's streak," he said.

"I tried to use my forehand well against Djokovic and make him really play. This will be my first final in Monte Carlo and I'm really excited."

Numerous unforced errors from Djokovic handed Verdasco the win on a plate.

In the second set, the Serb double-faulted four times, lost his serve three times and won less than half of his points on first serve.

"I made his win much easier because I (made) so many unforced errors," said Djokovic.

"I wasn't moving well, I wasn't feeling well on the court. It's a bad day."

Earlier, the relentless hitting and seemingly impenetrable defence that has taken Nadal to four French Open titles was in evidence as he swept through the first set of his semi-final in 34 minutes.

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A furious Ferrer angrily smacked the red dirt from his trainers as he dropped serve again early in the second set, but he was not about to crumble.

The 11th seed finally earned a break of his own to make it 2-2, only for Nadal to go up another gear and regain the advantage with a magnificent forehand winner down the line in game five.

There was a minor slip-up from Nadal when serving for the match but he sealed victory after just one hour and 16 minutes with his sixth break of the day.

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