Nadal to meet Davydenko in Miami Open final

WASHINGTON, April 4 (Xinhua) -- French Open champion Rafael Nadal will meet the Russian fourth seed Nikolay Davydenko in the final of the ATP Masters Series Sony Ericsson Open.

The Spaniard overcame a sloppy first set to claim a 7-6(6), 6-2victory over Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych in the semifinals on Friday while Andy Roddick, who beat world number one Roger Federer on Thursday, lost to Davydenko in the other semifinal.

Nadal, the reigning French Open champion, battled through a grueling opening, needing seven set points to close out the 73-minute first set before advancing into a much easier second set.

Davydenko reached his first final of the year and is the first Russian in the 24-year history of this hard court event to play in the championship match.

Roddick and Davydenko produced a high quality first set, but the Russian was the only player able to maintain the intensity in the second.

Roddick took a 2-1 advantage with a service break in the second set, but surrendered the advantage in the next game when he dropped serve.

Davydenko broke again, on his fourth opportunity, with a forehand crosscourt in the sixth game and sealed victory in the eighth when a Roddick forehand dropped into the net.