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| Rafael Nadal of Spain reacts after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the Madrid Open Tennis in Madrid, Saturday, May 16, 2009. |
MADRID (AP) -- Top-ranked Rafael Nadal saved three match points before beating Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9) on Saturday to reach the Madrid Open final.
Nadal reached his seventh final this season after a 33rd straight win on clay. It was his fifth straight win over the fourth-ranked Djokovic.
"I love these matches, it's very special to play these matches," Nadal said. "If I don't fight here (in Spain), when am I going to fight?"
Nadal complained of discomfort in his right knee before the match, and made uncharacteristic errors to allow an early break in the first set.
Nadal called for his trainer to have the leg wrapped above the knee in the second set before evening the match.
In the deciding tiebreaker, Djokovic watched Nadal hit forehand winners down the near line to save his first two match points. The Serb then beat Nadal with a passing shot to save a match point of his own.
But leading 9-8, Djokovic sent the ball out and then netted on Nadal's next match point to end the longest three-set match in Masters Series history after 4 hours, 3 minutes.
"I'm very disappointed that I can play this well and still not win a match," Djokovic said.
Nadal will face either Roger Federer or Juan Martin del Potro, who played later Saturday.
"What I'm worried about is recovering in time and playing well. If I don't, I won't win," said Nadal, who hasn't lost on clay in over a year.
Earlier, top-ranked Dinara Safina beat Switzerland's Patty Schnyder 6-4, 6-2 to set up a final against Danish teenager Caroline Wozniacki, who advanced after a 7-6 (1), 6-3 victory over Amelie Mauresmo.
Djokovic would have reclaimed third place in the rankings by reaching the final, after being surpassed by Andy Murray.
Instead, the Serb has now lost in the Olympics, the Davis Cup, and finals at Monte-Carlo and Rome in his latest matches against Nadal.
"I played one of my best (games) on this surface, so ... I don't think you need my comments, you saw everything," Djokovic said. "A couple of points decided the winner."
Nadal, who won in the Spanish capital in 2005 when the event was played indoors on a hard court, reached his 26th clay-court final. He has won 25 of those.
Safina, coming off a victory at Rome, reached her fifth final of the season by staying undefeated in four meetings against the 20th-ranked Schnyder.
The 23-year-old Safina broke Schnyder four times behind 28 winners, and overcame five double faults on the clay at the "Magic Box" tennis center.
"When you keep winning, you don't fell like you're tired. At the moment I'm feeling great," Safina said ahead of her first meeting with Wozniacki.
The ninth-seeded Wozniacki, who hasn't dropped a set this week to reach her third final of the season, saved two set points to force the opening set tiebreaker, which she took after going up 4-0.
Wozniacki broke Mauresmo, a two-time Grand Slam champion from France, for the fifth time before saving two break points in the ninth game to clinch it on her second match point when Mauresmo hit long.
"I just tried to hold my focus and make her run and not to make too many errors and to take my chances when I had them," said Wozniacki, who will become the first Danish player to crack the top 10 when this week's rankings are released. "Somehow I pulled through."
