Rafael Nadal booked his spot in the final of the Cincinnati Masters with an impressive 7-5 7-6 victory over Tomas Berdych.
The match started very evenly, with both men dominating the other with some impressive service games.
Just as the Cincinnati crowd had begun to prepare for a first set tie-breaker, Nadal produced some magical tennis in the 11th game to break Berdych for the first time in the contest.
The Spaniard raced into a 40-0 lead but was soon pegged back as Berdych looked to force the tie-break with some great battling.
However, Nadal secured the first set to take a crucial lead in a high-quality clash.
Berdych displayed a great attitude again to save two break points of his own before shocking the supporters in the stands by breaking Nadal.
However, the former world number one quickly responded with some stunning forehands to break Berdych in the next game.
The Czech was tested at 5-5 as Nadal, in the longest game of the match, threatened to break serve with some fantastic defensive tennis before a couple of big serves handed the lead to Berdych.
A comfortable service game from Nadal brought a tie-break, with the Spaniard continuing his momentum to secure a mini-break.
Berdych responded by claiming a point off his opponent's serve to make the scores level in the tie-break.
However, Nadal secured another mini-break of serve before storming past his rival with a series of stunning shots to secure the victory with a 7-4 triumph in the tie-break.
Callum Mulvihill
