Saturday 18 April 2015 17:11, UK
Tomas Berdych overwhelmed Gael Monfis 6-1 6-4 to reach the final of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time.
Chasing a second Masters title 10 years after he made his breakthrough at the Paris Masters, Berdych immediately took control from the baseline and Monfils struggled to cope with the fast pace imposed by the big-hitting Czech.
Monfils won just 11 points in a lopsided first set before the Frenchman changed his strategy, using more sliced shots to break up his opponent's rhythm.
The move paid off early in the second set when Monfils broke back to level at 1-1 as Berdych made two forehand errors.
Monfils failed to build on the momentum, though, dropping his next service game.
The sixth seed will be playing in his fourth Masters 1000 final and first since losing to Roger Federer in Madrid three years ago.
After hiring Andy Murray's former coach Dani Vallverdu, Berdych has been in excellent form this year, reaching the semi-finals at the Australian Open and finishing runner-up in Doha and Rotterdam.
"The best thing for me is that I can see the results behind it, which is always very nice and always positive because it hasn't been a quite easy decision to make that (coaching) change in the end of the last year," Berdych said.
"I decided I still want to try to push myself higher and give myself another chance, to try to compete with the best ones and move myself higher and better. I think we (are) going the right way."
He will face top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the final after the Serb dispatched eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in straight sets.
Watch live coverage of the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday 19 April, Sky Sports 4 from 1.30pm.
