Federer, Nadal win Monte Carlo semis

MONTE CARLO, Monaco, April 21 (UPI) -- Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both won their semifinal matches Saturday at the Monte Carlo Masters Series in Monaco.

The top-seeded Federer recovered from a slow start to beat two-time Monte Carlo champion Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 6-3, 6-4.

Nadal, the No. 2 seed, followed with a 6-0, 7-5 victory against unseeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic.

"He is a very good player," Nadal said after breaking a three-match losing streak against Berdych. "I knew I had to play a great match to beat him."

Federer and Nadal will play for the title Sunday for the second straight year.

Nadal won last year's final, 6-2, 6-7 (2-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), and has won all four clay-court matches against the 10-time Grand Slam champion.

Nadal also will try to become the first player since Ilie Nastase from 1971-73 to win three straight Monte Carlo titles.