World number one Rafael Nadal held off a late challenge from Briton Andy Murray to stay in contention for a record fifth consecutive title at the Monte Carlo Masters with a 6-2, 7-6 semifinal win on Saturday. The Spaniard, who has won his last 26 matches in the principality, will play world number three Novak Djokovic in Sunday's final after the Serb had earlier recovered to beat Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-1, 6-3. Nadal, who has not dropped a set in Monte Carlo since the 2006 final against Roger Federer, pushed the fourth-seeded Murray far behind the baseline, leaving his opponent with little opportunity to attack. The powerful Spanish top seed opened a 4-1 lead and had three break points in the sixth game after winning nine points in a row as Murray was left gasping for air. The Briton saved them all but Nadal wrapped up the opening set in the next game when a Murray forehand went long. The US Open finalist played more aggressively at the start of the second set but Nadal was simply too strong and would not back off, breaking in the fourth game. Wozniacki vs. Lisicki In South Carolina, Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki stayed on course for back-to-back claycourt titles when she reached the Charleston final Saturday with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 win over Russian top seed Elena Dementieva. The 18-year-old Wozniacki, the world number 12 who won the Ponte Vedra Beach title in Florida last weekend, came out on top after a three-hour battle with world number five Dementieva. In Sunday's final, Wozniacki will face German 16th seed Sabine Lisicki who defeated French sixth seed Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-1. Kirilenko-Vinci final In Barcelona, Maria Kirilenko rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory over fifth-seeded Carla Suarez Navarro on Saturday to advance to the Barcelona Open final, where the defending champion will face Italy's Roberta Vinci. After dropping the first set, the sixth-seeded Kirilenko broke Suarez Navarro on seven of her following nine chances. It was the Russian's second match of the day, after hanging on for a 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 victory over another Spaniard, Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, in a rain-suspended quarterfinal earlier on Saturday. Vinci overcame fellow Italian player Francesca Schiavone for a hard-fought 0-6, 7-6 (2), 6
