Nadal victory secures long-sought rise to number one

The eighth-seeded Scot will test his confidence against the mighty serve of Karlovic, who notched 24 aces in his 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/3) win over German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

Murray goes in with full confidence after reaching his fifth career semi-final at the elite Masters level.

"I think I can win a Masters Series, and I'd love to do it this week," he said. "I played well last week and had a tight match against Nadal.

"This week I'm playing well again. You know, hopefully I can do it."

Murray improved his season mark to 33 wins, 12 defeats.

"It was really tough at the start," he said. "He was serving well and I threw in a lot of unforced errors. But once I got going, I played really well.

"I've never been to the final of a Masters but this looks like my best chance. I'm playing well enough and can hopefully come through."

Rafael Nadal factfile

Factfile of Rafael Nadal, who assured his rise to the world number one ranking this month with a quarter-final victory at the Cincinnati Masters on Friday:

RAFAEL NADAL (ESP)

World ranking: 2 (to be No.1 Aug 18 at latest)

Birthdate: June 3, 1986

Birthplace: Manacor, Mallorca

Residence: Manacor, Mallorca

Height: 6'1'' (185 cm)

Weight: 188 lbs (85 kg)

Plays: Left-handed

Turned Pro: 2001

Career singles titles: 30

Grand Slam singles titles: 5