HAMBURG, Germany -- Rafael Nadal fought off a stubborn challenge from Novak Djokovic 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 on Saturday to set up another final against defending champion Roger Federer at the Hamburg Masters.
The top-ranked Federer overwhelmed Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-1 in the other semifinal. He won his fourth Hamburg title last year by beating Nadal in the final.
Nadal's No. 2 ranking was at stake against Djokovic but the Spaniard prevailed in an often spectacular match that had both players clenching fists and thumping chests after amazing winners.
Djokovic was seeking back-to-back titles after winning last week's Rome Masters, where Nadal lost in an early round after suffering from a painful blister in his foot.
The third-ranked Serb came roaring, racing to a 3-0 lead in the first and held two break points to make it 4-0. But Nadal held and then broke Djokovic before making it 3-3, and the Serb looked disheartened for the rest of the set.
Djokovic bounced back in the second, but the match was decided early in the third. Djokovic dropped his serve in the opening game and then squandered four break points in two successive games on Nadal's serve.
Nadal needed five match points to win the last game, during which Djokovic squandered four more break points.
The match took three hours and three minutes and Nadal may feel the pain when he comes up against a rested Federer, who spent nearly two hours less on the court.
Playing under a closed canvas roof on a rainy day, Federer could have made the score even more one-sided but converted just one of his eight break points in the first set.
"It was a long first set. I created many opportunities. I think I wore him out and set it up for the second set," Federer said.
Federer has not dropped a set on his way to the final and has yet to play a seeded player. The tournament is a major warmup for the French Open later this month, the only Grand Slam title that Federer has yet to win.
"It is good to be in the Hamburg final again, it is good for the confidence ahead of the French Open," he said.
Federer has won only one title this year, at a relatively small clay-court tournament last month in Estoril, Portugal.
He lost his sixth match of 2008 in the Rome Masters quarterfinals last week, to Radek Stepanek.
"Maybe I am a touch better than last year. I feel a bit more ready for Paris," Federer said.
