Berdych breezes into Monte Carlo final

Cape Town - Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych overwhelmed Gael Monfis 6-1, 6-4 Saturday to reach the final of the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time.

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.

Chasing a second Masters title 10 years after he made his breakthrough at the Paris Masters, Berdych will face either Rafael Nadal or top-ranked Novak Djokovic in the final.