Shanghai Masters Nadal and Federer to face off for Shanghai title

Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer will meet on Sunday in the final of the Shanghai Masters, the last chapter of their historic rivalry. The famous duo faced 37 times, the Spaniard and world number one Nadal winning 23 of their competitions.

And 31-year-old Nadal, who has never won the Shanghai Masters, will be a bit favorite this time as he enters the showdown with excellent form and Federer faces a faster lap.

Nadal, 16-time Grand Slam champion, triumphed at the US Open, and last week at the China Open for his sixth title of another remarkable campaign.

But he was forced to survive the roller coaster with fourth seed, Marin Cilic, in his semifinal, saving three set points in the first game before going 7-5, 7-6 (7/3) .

Switzerland's Federer, the world number two chasing a second Shanghai crown, has gone back years to recover from a set and beat Juan Martin del Potro by 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Federer, 36, then dismissed concerns about his shorter rest time - his last match - and called the rivalry with Nadal "special".

"The way we both play, we play very differently from each other, and also the attitude, the way we live our lives, everything is very different in some aspects," said Federer, a public favorite at Shanghai.

"But we have a similar mentality in the big moments, I realized that when we played doubles (together recently in Cup Laver).

"He has no sense of urgency or panic, he can realize we've been there several times already.

"He's a great champion and he's definitely one of the guys who makes me a better player."

"He made me redo my game and go back to the training grounds and think about what might change.

"That's why I'm happy with the defeats I suffered (against him) and it's good that at this stage of my career, we still have these games."

Federer said he wanted revenge for the sixteenth seed, Argentina's Del Potro, for the quarter-final defeat at the US Open this summer.

And finally he got it.

Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion whose career was affected by wrist injuries, quickly dispelled fears that his last problem would be a great disadvantage.

The 29-year-old fell and injured his left wrist by winning the quarter-finals and it was suggested he could not even get to Saturday's game.

But he showed no negative effect by dazzling the crowd in favor of Federer by breaking 4-2 in the first set.

And Del Potro clung to the point of balance after an exciting rally that made the spectators ring, only that the 19 Grand Slam champion Federer inexplicably threw his volley off the field.

The second set was in service until Federer, who had started after the 94th singles title, advanced the lead to Del Potro.

Del Potro began to show irritation, engaging in a series of discussions with the referee, complaining about the crowd chatting during the points.

Federer sent the game to a decisive third set and took the break before starting another Nadal encounter.

"Difficult match"

Cilic, a native of Croatia, had only overtaken Nadal on one occasion in five previous games, but he did the best seed work for that last win.

Nadal said he was happy to be in the final.

"The road does not matter," he says with a smile.

"We are at the highest level of our sport, so no one wins easily.

"And if you want to participate in the most important events of the year and try to win, you're going to have tough matches, and today he was one of them."

Nadal showed a flash of irritation at one point during the second set, when Cilic and he exchanged breaks, hitting his knee twice angry with his racket.

The Spaniard, who returned to world rank after a series of injuries, played down the incident.

"Sometimes I feel so frustrated, that's all," he said.