Nadal edges Davydenko to reach final

TOUGH BATTLE: Rafael Nadal was pushed every inch of the way by the Davydenko in a tense tussle that lasted three hours and 38 minutes.

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Keywords: Semifinal, Davydenko

Rome: Spanish second seed Rafael Nadal remains on course for a third consecutive Rome Masters title after he edged Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (7/3), 6-7 (8/10), 6-4 in a dramatic semi-final.

World number two Nadal was pushed every inch of the way by the Russian fourth seed in a tense tussle that lasted three hours and 38 minutes on Saturday.

Nadal saved set point in the first set and failed to serve out the second to let Davydenko level the tie. It was the first set Nadal has dropped on clay this year.

At 4-4 in the decider, Nadal broke to love before serving out the match.

Both players were given a standing ovation at the Foro Italico's centre court as Nadal extended his record winning streak on clay to a staggering 76 matches and clinched a place in Sunday's final against Fernando Gonzalez.

Chilean sixth seed Gonzalez defeated Italian wild card Filippo Volandri - who knocked out world number one and top seed Roger Federer in the third round - 6-1, 6-2 in just 67 minutes, leaving him far fresher than Nadal for Sunday's showpiece.

Gonzalez, 26, has a good record against Nadal, winning three of their previous four meetings.

Nadal, whose last defeat on clay was back in April 2005 against Russian Igor Andreev in the Valencia quarter-finals, is aiming to become the first player to win the Rome Masters three times in a row.

Nadal, 20, admitted Davydenko had pushed him to the limit.

"He was a very difficult opponent, but the important thing was that I kept fighting, kept believing in myself," he said.