Rafael Nadal was seriously tested by Ernests Gulbis before finally wearing down his 40th-ranked opponent to pull out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win in the semifinals of the Rome Masters Saturday. It was the first time in nine matches on clay this year that Nadal dropped a set. "It was a really hard match and I didn't play well," Nadal said. "It's really difficult to play against Gulbis. His serve was really unbelievable." Routinely putting first serves in at 215kph, Gulbis didn't allow Nadal his usual rhythm on return games and the Spaniard converted only two of 12 break points. Nadal broke Gulbis in the opening game of the match and had to wait until the final game before doing it again, when a backhand from the Latvian sailed wide. Upon sealing the 2 hour, 46-minute marathon, Nadal let out a big scream and jump with a series of fist pumps. "I was really happy that I won such a difficult match," Nadal said. "The mental part was very good for me." In the title match, Nadal will meet fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who beat a sluggish Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the first Masters Series final of his career. Henin-Stosur final In Germany, Justine Henin reached her third final in fourth months since her comeback when she brushed aside Shahar Peer in her semifinal at Stuttgart's indoor clay tournament Saturday. The Belgian wild card, warming up for her first appearance at Roland Garros since winning her fourth French Open title there in 2007, won 6-3, 6-2 and will meet Samantha Stosur in Sunday's final. The Australian, seeded seven, beat Russian qualifier Anna Lapushchenkova 7-5, 6-3. Benesova wins Fez In Morocco, Iveta Benesova won her second WTA Tour title Saturday, beating Romanian teenager Simona Halep 6-4, 6-2 in the Grand Prix SAR final. The left-handed Czech won the match when Halep sent a forehand into the net. Benesova's first title came in 2004 at Acapulco, Mexico.
