Nadal and Djokovic Reach Queens Final

Rafael Nadal ended Andy Roddick's bid for a record fifth title at the ATP tournament at Queen's Club by charging into the final with a 7-5 6-4 win on Saturday.

"After winning Roland Garros I never thought I could play this final," Nadal said. "I (am) feeling comfortable on grass. The important thing that's helping me a lot, I am serving very well." "It means a lot to play so well against the defending champion who has won so many games here," Nadal said. "I felt he was the favourite because he is an amazing player on grass because of his serve. I'm really happy."

The top-seeded Spaniard, bidding for his first grasscourt title, will face Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic on Sunday.

The Serbian blew away David Nalbandian with a 6-1 6-0 demolition in 47 brutal minutes.

“Having these kind of performances, these easy victories, is always good before the finals,” said Djokovic, who won 12 consecutive games in the semifinal. “Honestly, I wasn't expecting such an easy match. Knowing that Nalbandian has a lot of experience and he loves to play on this surface, he had quite a bit of success in the past years, he played the finals of Wimbledon and he managed to get here to the semifinals quite comfortably, you know, I was preparing for a tough match, tough encounter.

“But obviously I did everything that I needed to do. In the most important moments, I was playing great tennis, I did all that I imagined to do. It was nearly perfect, I have no complaints.“

Both stars will be looking to claim their first grass court title in what will be the first final between the top two seeds at The Queen's Club since 2002.

Nadal will become the first Spaniard since 1972 to win a grass title if he is able to overcome Serbian second seed Djokovic at Queen's.

And if Djokovic wins the title here, he will become the first man this year to win titles on three different surfaces having won on hard courts at the Australian Open and Indian Wells and on clay at the Masters Series event in Rome.


(source Reuters, photo/Christopher Lee/Getty Images,
ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images )