Nadal to face Djokovic in final

BEIJING — Rafa Nadal will take on world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the China Open final after the multiple Grand Slam champions bludgeoned their way to straight-sets wins Saturday. Nadal extracted a modicum of revenge on new Italian foe Fabio Fognini with a 7-5, 6-3 semifinal win before Djokovic extended his unbeaten winning run in the Chinese capital to 28 matches with a 6-2, 6-3 win over David Ferrer of Spain. Sunday’s battle will be the 45th meeting of a high-class, long-term rivalry between the two and although Nadal leads 23-21, the Serb has won six of the last seven. Djokovic had been dominant for most of the season, winning three Grand Slam titles and dropping only 14 games in four matches in China. Nadal is fully aware of the gargantuan task awaiting him. “Tomorrow is a match I know is going to be very, very difficult. But I am here to try my best,” Nadal, whose last hardcourt title came 21 months ago in Qatar, told reporters. “My goal is try to play the way that I want to play. I know this year Novak, as I say before, is a different league of my one. But still happy with the final. I’m going to fight tomorrow and we’ll see.” Djokovic proved far too strong for Ferrer to remain on course for a sixth Beijing title. The Serb broke at will and displayed his extensive range of hitting and court coverage to leave Ferrer befuddled. In the women’s draw, Gabriele Muguruza overcame Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to make her second straight final in China after last week’s efforts in Wuhan. The Spaniard, seeking her first title this season and second of her career, will play Swiss Timea Bacsinszky, who kept alive her qualifying bid for the WTA Finals in Singapore with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 win over Ana Ivanovic. The loss ended the Serb’s hopes of making the eight-woman end-of-season event. Paire upsets Nishikori Unseeded Frenchman Benoit Paire will take on Stan Wawrinka in the Japan Open final after storming back from a set down to upset home favorite Kei Nishikori in the semifinals Saturday. Paire, competing in his first ATP Tour 500 semifinal, looked out of sorts in the opening set but found his range following a medical timeout in the second to re-tape his ankle. The bearded 26-year-old Frenchman grew in confidence with some strong returns and big serves to secure a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over the double defending champion, who became more tentative as the match wore on. Paire won his first ATP Tour title on the clay at Bastad in July and will go in search of his second against French Open champion Wawrinka, who served strongly in taking out Gilles Muller of Luxembourg. The Swiss top seed coming through 6-4, 7-6 (5) to reach his fourth final of the year. The opening set went with serve before Wawrinka broke in the seventh game and went on to close it out, dropping just four points on serve in the set. Muller, who will break back in to the top 40 after his strong run in Japan, found a way to pressure Wawrinka in the second set by rushing the Swiss and breaking serve but failed to capitalise as he lost his own. The set went to a tiebreak with Muller putting a backhand volley wide to hand Wawrinka the win on his first match point.