First final for Nadal
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ByEurosport
Published 16/01/2004 at 11:55 GMT
Last year Rafael Nadal sealed his reputation as a star for the future with wins over Albert Costa and Carlos Moya, two weeks into the new season the 17-year-old Spaniard is showing no signs of letting up on his assault of the world rankings.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
This time, the world number 47 has thumped Jiri Novak of the Czech Republic in the semi-finals of the Auckland Open on Friday.
Belying his tender age, Nadal dismantled his opponent's top-ten game with imperious groundstrokes to book a place in his first main ATP title round.
The Czech 27-year-old, who was unusually sluggish around the court and went down 6-3 6-2, was quick to praise his conqueror.
“He (Nadal) is the future generation,” stated Novak.
“I think he is going to be one of the best players in the world.”
Nadal will now faces Dominik Hrbaty after the Slovakian saw off defending champion Gustavo Kuerten.
The winner of last week's Adelaide tournament was forced to play twice on Friday as his quarter final against Philipp Kohlschreiber was delayed by rain the previous day.
He had just two hours rest after taking the deciding set over Kohlschreiber before returning to action.
Hrbaty showed his confidence with a 6-3 6-2 destruction of former world number one Kuerten.
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