Resurgent Nadal reaches Indian Wells final

Rafael Nadal of Spain hits a return against Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic on March 16, 2013 in Indian Wells, California. Nadal defeated Berdych 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the Indian Wells Masters.

INDIAN WELLS, California (AFP): A resurgent Rafael Nadal beat Tomas Berdych 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the Indian Wells Masters.

Nadal has now reached the final in four straight tournaments since returning in February from a seven-month injury absence that followed his shock second-round exit at Wimbledon last year.

But he has faced his sternest test yet in the first Masters tournament of the season, not only from the more punishing hard court surface but as part of a field that featured 49 of the top 50 men in the world.

The fifth-seeded Spaniard saved three break points in the final game against sixth-seeded Berdych before gaining a first match point.

A wayward forehand cost him that one, but Berdych’s backhand into the net gave him another, and when Berdych knocked a backhand service return into the net Nadal thrust his arms into the air in triumph.

Against Berdych, who was coming off back-to-back finals appearances at Marseille and Dubai, Nadal was in control for most of the match.

Berdych gained his first break point at 4-3 in the second set — and Nadal coughed up his only double fault of the match to give him the break and a chance to serve out the set.

Nadal shrugged off the lapse to break back immediately — for him the crucial moment of the match.

“I played my best game of the match in the 5-3, playing very aggressive, having two very, very good points with my forehand down the line,” Nadal said.

“Especially after having the break and the game with double fault, to be able to forget that and be able to be focused on the next game, on the first point of the next game, and finally do the right things to be back on the serve was decisive.”

Nadal launched his comeback with three modest clay court tournaments in Latin America, reaching the final at Vina del Mar and winning titles in Sao Paulo and Acapulco.

Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic returns against Rafael Nadal of Spain on March 16, 2013 in Indian Wells, California. A resurgent Nadal defeated Berdych 6-4, 7-5 to reach the final of the Indian Wells Masters.

His run to the final here included a quarter-final triumph over 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer, but Nadal said he is still finding his feet on court.

It’s not only a matter of physical ability and timing, but also of regaining the ability to make good decisions at critical points in a match.

“Even if I had a lot of success the last weeks, for example, today I was very nervous at the end of the match,” he said. “I was lucky that my serve worked amazing in the last game in important moments.

“There are some things that you need to adjust, and victories like today help you a lot for the confidence and to remember all the things that you have to do in every moment.”

In Sunday’s final he could find Novak Djokovic across the net.

The world No. 1 from Serbia, riding a 22-match winning streak dating back to October 31, was facing Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the other semi-final.

Nadal’s last hard-court final was a loss to Djokovic in an epic five-set Australian Open final in January of 2012.

The 11-time Grand Slam champion hadn’t even entered a hard court event in nearly a year, since withdrawing from the Miami Masters last March with tendinitis in his left knee.

That same troublesome knee would later lead to his lengthy absence from competition.