Nadal to face Federer in Abu Dhabi final

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal defeated Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4 Friday to reach the final of the World Tennis Championships.

Nadal, who won the tournament last year, struggled against the sixth-ranked Czech’s serve at the start before taking charge in the ninth game. He hit a forehand into the corner to break Berdych and go up 5-4. He won the set with another forehand into the corner.

Nadal cruised to a 4-1 lead in the second, breaking Berdych twice before the 25-year-old Czech took the next two games to make it 4-3. But Berdych’s comeback fell short and Nadal closed out the match with a forehand that the Czech returned into the net.

In the final Saturday, the Nadal will face Roger Federer. He defeated Robin Soderling 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3.

Roger Federer rallied from a set down to defeat Robin Soderling 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 Friday and reach the final of the World Tennis Championships.

Federer lost to the fifth-ranked Swede in the exhibition last year.

“I never got broken,” Federer said. “I came back and got through a tough second set and third set I felt I was playing better.” The Swiss star struggled with his serve in the first set and had to save several break points early on. Federer then made several unforced errors in the tiebreaker, handing Soderling the lead when he hit a forehand long on set point.

But the second-ranked Federer took control in the second set, hitting several of his 16 aces to take a 5-3 lead. Soderling double-faulted to give Federer a set point and the Swede sent a shot that bounced on the net cord and out to even the match.

Using his powerful forehand and dominant service game, Federer went up 4-3 in the third and 5-3 when Soderling missed an easy forehand. Federer closed out the match with an ace.