Defending champion Andy Murray registered just his second ever win over Rafael Nadal on clay to reach the Madrid Masters final 7-5, 6-4 on Saturday. Murray also beat Nadal on home soil to win his first ever Masters event on clay in Madrid last year. The Scot will face world number one Novak Djokovic or Japan's Kei Nishikori in Sunday's final.
Defeat brings to an end Nadal's 13-match winning run on the European clay this season after looking back to his best on his favoured surface with victories in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in recent weeks. "I think it was a better win for me this year than last year," said Murray. "Not loads of players have won against Rafa on clay throughout his career.
"To beat him in Spain on a clay court is obviously a big, big challenge for any player. "I'm very pleased to have beaten him, it's a big step for me from where I was four or five weeks ago. I'm going back in the right direction again." Nadal admitted Murray had been the better player on the big points after missing out on 11 of 13 break points. "It was an open, competitive match which in the end was decided by a few points. The one that played the big points better won," said Nadal.
"He made the difference with his serve. I didn't play my best, but I also didn't play badly. I was at a middling level which wasn't enough to beat Murray." Nadal had come from a set down to beat Murray in the semi-finals of Monte Carlo and was forced to try to do the same again as the Scot edged a tight first set. The world number two surrendered a 5-2 lead, but responded perfectly by breaking the Nadal serve to love with a searing forehand return winner to take the set 7-5. The second set was a tale of break points as Murray saved eight of the nine he faced and pounced on his two opportunities to leave the home crowd silenced.