Roger vs Rafa in Blockbuster Final

Roger Federer will meet Rafael Nadal for the third consecutive year in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 Masters Series Monte-Carlo final Sunday after defeating Novak Djokovic 6-3, 3-2 ret. (illness) in the semifinals.

Federer snapped Nadal's 81-match clay-court winning streak in the Hamburg final last year, and now will look to avenge back-to-back losses to his rival in the past two Monte-Carlo finals.

Against Djokovic in today's semifinal, Federer broke open the first set when he rallied from 40/15 down to break the Serb for a 5-3 lead, and then held to love to serve out the set. Federer had just claimed his second break of the second set when Djokovic retired.

Despite the fact that Nadal has not dropped a set in Monte-Carlo in his past nine matches - including the 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Federer in last year's final - Federer believes he has a good chance to deny Nadal a fourth consecutive title on Sunday.

"The matches he wins, he grinds them out. Even if he wins today 2 and 3 [against Davydenko], it's still a one-and-a-half-hour match, which is quite surprising. So it shows you you'll always get your chance against him. I'd like to be able to push him tomorrow and see what he can come up with at the most important moments.

Federer vs Nadal head-to-head record

"I think it's going to be an interesting match because I'm playing well again. I'm definitely going to have to use a better game plan tomorrow than compared to last year where I thought I played pretty disappointing."

Federer said he enjoys the challenge of playing Nadal on clay, adding that Nadal's 7-6 in the fifth set win over Federer in the 2006 Rome final was one of his most memorable matches. "I think the level of play was very high in Rome throughout. Five sets, five hours, I thought was one of the greatest matches I ever was part of... Stuff like this means a lot to me."

Federer also vividly remembers his 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 win over Nadal to capture his fourth Masters Series Hamburg title last year. "Hamburg I think I played in a good way, but I'm aware also he came into that match maybe a little bit tired. After all, you know, he was on an 81-match winning streak, so he didn't come to the finals hoping to lose. I played excellent, especially the first set and a half. So it's hard for me to tell. But I've played well against him on clay, and also at the French Open when I won the first set 6-1. I guess for me it's important to be able to tie it all together and do it over three or four or five sets."

Djokovic said that he began to feel unwell midweek: "I didn't feel good for last three days. I've been waking up with some sore throat. But I thought it's not going to be nothing special. But obviously when you're playing against the No. 1 player of the world, you obviously get a lot of balls back and longer points, and I just couldn't get enough energy back after each point. I needed a lot of time. And I just decided not to risk anything.

"It's a sore throat. I feel dizziness a little bit in the last three days. Doctor in the tournament couldn't give me the right diagnosis. I'll check as soon as possible.

"I'm really disappointed that I had to finish this way. Feel sorry for the crowd and for everybody. But I always put health in the first place. Semifinal is a great result. No doubt about that. I'm not extremely disappointed. You know, it's a good result to come in the best four of a strong tournament."