Rafael Nadal survived a real scare from Lleyton Hewitt to set up another final with world number one Roger Federer at the Hamburg Masters on Saturday
Nadal outlasted the rejuvenated Australian to finally bury him 2-6, 6-3, 7-5.
Roger Federer put a poor start behind him to beat Carlos Moya 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the semi-final.
Federer, needing every bit of match practice he can get on clay before the French Open, seemed determined to go for his shots from the start and he initially paid the price for this high-risk strategy.
The world number one hit 20 unforced errors in losing the first set to the unseeded Moya before finding his rhythm and winning out in two hours seven minutes, finishing off with a stinging forehand pass.
Nadal's two-year winning streak on clay was in jeopardy as the Australian 16th seed dominated the first set, battering the ball past the Spaniard with alarming regularity to break twice.
Nadal hit back in the second thanks to an early break and was quickly ahead in the third before Hewitt battled back.
The Spaniard missed a chance to serve for the match at 5-4 and had to save two break points at 6-5 before finally clinching victory when Hewitt failed to put away a simple volley.
It was Nadal's 81st successive victory on clay in a run dating back to April 2005.
