MONACO -- Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych overwhelmed Gael Monfis 6-1, 6-4 Saturday to reach the final of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time.
In the other semifinal, top-ranked Novak Djokovic overcame a strong challenge from Rafael Nadal to win 6-3, 6-3. Djokovic extended his winning streak to 16 matches.
With Prince Albert of Monaco among the onlookers, both players produced some stunning tennis in the semifinal as Nadal showed glimpses of his old self, mixing aggression and superb defensive shots.
But the Spaniard, who has been struggling to get back to his best after a wrist injury and an appendectomy, was not consistent enough to deny Djokovic a shot at his fourth Masters title in a row.
Earlier, Berdych immediately took control from the baseline and Monfils struggled to cope with the fast pace imposed by the big-hitting Czech.
Monfils won just 11 points in a lopsided first set before the Frenchman changed his strategy, using more sliced shots to break up his opponent's rhythm.
The move paid off early in the second set when Monfils broke back to level at 1-1 as Berdych made two forehand errors.
Monfils failed to build on the momentum, though, dropping his next service game as his hopes of becoming the first French player in 15 years to make the final at the Country Club vanished.
"It's always difficult when I'm up against Tomas, I can't find the proper way to play him," said the 14th-seeded Monfils after his sixth loss in seven matches against the Czech. "Hopefully I'll find the solution one day."
Monfils, who was a wild-card entry this week after recovering from a hip injury sooner than expected, added that his poor percentage on his first serve was a decisive factor.
"But even when I served well, he was retuning hard and deep," Monfils said. "He reads my serve very well."
