Tennis News : Murray faces Nadal in Japan final

Murray's victory in the semi-final was his 20th win in 21 matches

Andy Murray will play Rafael Nadal in Sunday's final of the Japan Open after a comfortable win over David Ferrer.

The British number one beat the Spaniard 6-2 6-3 to remain on course for a second successive title after winning the Thailand Open last week.

Defending champion Nadal beat American Mardy Fish 7-5 6-1 in the last four.

Murray broke his opponent three times in total as he raced to victory in one hour 21 minutes.

"I played great from start to finish," Murray told www.atptour.com. "It was always going to be a tough match, but I played smart and I was hitting the ball very deep from the back of the court, so it was a very good performance."

Looking ahead to Sunday's final he added: "I think he's played some very good tennis the last couple of matches. He's always tough. He won here last year, so he likes the conditions."

Nadal faced a tougher task in his semi-final against world number eight Mardy Fish.

Murray v Nadal head to head

Continue reading the main story

• Hard court 3-4


• Indoor 1-2


• Grass 0-3


• Clay 0-4

It took until the 11th game for the first break, when Nadal took his second break point to lead 6-5 and served out the set.

He then took control of the tie and won the second set 6-1, finishing the match without facing a break point.

Nadal has beaten Murray in their last five matches and leads the head-to-head 13-4.

"I hope that I can play a fantastic match [tomorrow]," said the top seed.

"My opponent will be very difficult, so I have to play my best match if I want to win the tournament with the title.

"But for me, being in the final here is a very, very good result. I'm very happy about it. I'll just try to do my best and enjoy a difficult match," he added.