Djokovic, Nadal to vie for U.S. Open title

NEW YORK, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Top-seeded Rafael Nadal will meet No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open men's final after both registered semifinal victories Saturday.

Nadal gained his first career U.S. Open final in the day's first semifinal match-up, dispatching Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, while Djokovic shocked five-time champ Roger Federer 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in a thrilling second semifinal.

Nadal was rarely threatened by the 12th-seeded Russian. Youzhny perked up a bit in the third set when he broke the Spaniard's serve for the only time, evening the set at 4-4. Nadal broke right back, however, and served out to claim the victory.

Nadal called for the trainer in the second set to treat an apparent blister on his foot but wasn't slowed down by the injury.

A U.S. Open title for Nadal would make him the first player since Rod Laver in 1969 to collect three straight Grand Slam events in a calendar year -- the 24-year-old has already taken the French Open and Wimbledon.

Nadal has now won 20 straight matches in major tournaments.

Djokovic, meanwhile, battled back from a pair of match points in a classic five-set thriller to pull off a gritty upset over the second-seeded Swiss superstar.

The Serb took advantage of 66 Federer errors to notch the 3-hour, 44-minute win.

The men's final will be Sunday.

Djokovic has won each of the past three match-ups with Nadal, all of which have come on hard surfaces, but is only 7-14 against the Spaniard overall.

Nadal owns a 4-0 edge over Djokovic in Grand Slam events.