Federer to face Nadal in final

Holder and top seed Roger Federer beat unseeded Italian Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-1 in the Hamburg Masters on Saturday to set up a final with Spain's Rafael Nadal for the second year in a row.

Second seed Nadal won a magnificent three-hour semi-final battle with Novak Djokovic, beating the fast-rising Serb 7-5, 2-6, 6-2

In Saturday's first semi-final, world number one Federer was only once under pressure on his serve against Seppi and closed out the win in 79 minutes. The Swiss had played the 24-year-old Seppi once before, coming through a tight match at the Monte Carlo Masters last year in straight sets.

Federer played some fabulous shots on Saturday, with a drop-shot return and a whipped crosscourt forehand winner on the run the pick of the bunch. The 26-year-old said he was very happy to be back in the Hamburg final with the French Open starting at the end of this month, the only grand slam he has failed to win.