Monaco: Spaniards Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer will lock horns again in the Monte Carlo Masters final after the clay court conquistadors sealed contrasting victories in their semi-finals, on Saturday.

World No. 1 Nadal, who lost to Ferrer at the Australian Open quarter finals, was pushed hard by injury-hit third seed Andy Murray but won 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in a less than vintage display. “It was a very physically demanding match,” Nadal said.

Fourth seed Ferrer roared back from a shaky start to cruise through with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Roger Federer’s quarter final conqueror Juergen Melzer of Austria. “It’s very difficult to beat Nadal of course. He is the best player in history on clay,” Ferrer said.