Spanish number one Rafael Nadal fought back from a set down to book his place in the final of the Madrid Open tennis tournament with a 3-set triumph 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 over fellow countryman Nicolas Almagro on Saturday evening.

The presence of two Spaniards in the semifinal meant the presence of at least one Spanish player in the final and for a while it looked as if Almagro would spring a surprise.

His service, which at times reached speeds of over 200 kilometers an hour caused Nadal a lot of problems and he took the first set.

Nadal showed signs of recover in the second set, with the number two seed starting to hit his targets more often while a combination of nerves and tiredness began to affect his less experienced rival.

Nadal took the second set in 40 minutes and then kept up his effort to take the match.

He will face number one seed Roger Federer in Sunday's final. Federer beat David Ferrer in three sets 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to avoid an all Spanish final.

The Swiss player broke Ferrer's serve in the 12th game of the first set and although Ferrer roared back to take the second set with a single service break, Federer recovered to sweep past him in the decisive third and final set of a match that lasted two hours and a quarter.