Rafael Nadal won a do or die round robin shootout with Nikolay Davydenko 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in the Masters Cup on Friday to set up semi-final meeting with Roger Federer.
The 20-year-old Spaniard took an injury time-out in the deciding set but rallied to break Davydenko for a 4-3 lead and reached the last four of the year-ending tournament at the first attempt with when the Russian went wide on the first match point.
Nadal and Davydenko, second and third in the world behind Swiss Federer, had never met before and both players showed off their power and athleticism in a fascinating two-and-three-quarter hour duel punctuated with fine winners.
American James Blake, who plays Spain's Tommy Robredo later on Friday, has already won the Gold Group and will meet Argentine David Nalbandian in Saturday's other semi-final. Robredo was already out of contention after two defeats.
