Rafael Nadal beat Andy Murray 7-6 (2), 6-3 to reach the final of the Rogers Cup on Saturday and put himself in line for his seventh title of the year.

He’ll face Nicolas Kiefer, who reached the championship match with a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over France’s Gilles Simon in the first semifinal. “You know, he’s definitely doing a lot of things better than he was in the past,” Murray said of Nadal. In three career meetings, all this year, the Spaniard has never lost a set to Kiefer. Kiefer, 31, hasn’t won an ATP title since 2000 Hong Kong and hasn’t appeared in a final since 2005 St. Petersburg. “All I can do is go out there and fight,” Kiefer said.

Paes-Dlouhy knocked out

Toronto: Leander Paes and Czech partner Lukas Dlouhy crashed out of the the ATP Rogers Masters losing to second seeds Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic 3-6, 6-7 (5).

Sania-Mattek ousted

Los Angeles: The Indo-American pair Sania Mirza and Bethanie Mattek bowed out of the WTA East West Bank Classic tournament after retiring midway through their semifinal match here. Second seeds Sania and Mattek were trailing 2-6, 1-2 when they pulled out of their match due to Mattek’s lower back injury against the Czech pair of Eva Hrdinova and Vladimira Uhlirova.

Devvarman in final

Lexington: Somdev Devvarman entered the singles final after his semifinal oppoent retired mid-way through in the USD 50,000 ATP Challenger tournament here. Devvarman, who entered the main draw via qualifying round, was leading 4-1 when Belgium’s Xavier Malisse conceded the match. The Indian will now face third seed American Robert Kendrick.

Safina storms into final

Carson (California): Dinara Safina stopped Jelena Jankovic’s quest to take the world’s No.1 ranking and cruised into the final of the East West Bank Classic with a straight-sets victory on Saturday. The Russian won 7-6 (3), 6-1 to set up a final against Italian Flavia Pennetta.