Nadal has played Nalbandian once, losing to him in Madrid last month

Nadal lost the first set 6-4 after leading it 3-0, but won the next two 6-4 6-3 to book his place in the final.

The loss ended any hopes that Baghdatis had of qualifying for the season-ending Masters Cup in Shanghai.

It also means France's Richard Gasquet gets the eighth and final berth. He lost 6-2 6-4 in the second semi-final to unseeded Argentine David Nalbandian.

After his loss to Nadal, a gracious Baghdatis said: "I know I did Gasquet a big favour, but he deserves it.

"He's played good the whole year, he's playing big tennis. You cannot say it's luck. It's people who deserve it, and I think he does."

606: DEBATE If Nalbandian plays at this level in the final, Nadal will struggle to impose his game NC

He added: "It's tough to lose a match when you're a set up, a break up, and everything's under control.

"You cannot say I made a mistake or something - the guy just upped his level."

Nadal said: "Marcos played really well but I managed to find the solution by being more aggressive and showing more initiative."

The French Open champion added: "I love this city, and not only because I keep winning here. It's the nicest place in the world after Mallorca."

Nalbandian extended his brilliant run of form by crushing local favourite Gasquet in just over an hour. His record against him is now 5-0.

After being dogged by injuries and indifferent form earlier in the season, he is now firing on all cylinders, beating world number one Roger Federer in the Madrid Masters final two weeks ago and again in the third round in Paris.

But he said: "I think here is a little different than Madrid. It's a little slow, and it's maybe a little bit better for (Nadal)."