Djokovic ends Nadal's winning streak

Rafael Nadal is guaranteed to become world No.1 but his impressive winning streak is over after losing to Novak Djokovic.

The third-seeded Serb stunned the Spaniard 6-1 7-5 in the semi-finals of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters on Saturday, ending Nadal's 32-match winning streak.

Nadal, who spent a record 158 weeks as the world number two, assured himself of the top ranking with Friday's win over Nicolas Lapentti.

The 22-year-old could have overtaken Roger Federer on Monday with a win, but now will assume the top spot on August 18.

Federer, who lost the French Open final to Nadal in an epic match on June 8, has been the world number one for a record 235 straight weeks.

However, Nadal will have to wait to claim his spot as the world's best men's player because Djokovic made surprisingly quick work of him.

Djokovic, who improved to 4-9 lifetime vs Nadal, fired four aces and recorded an astounding 76 percent (19-of-25) second-serve points to earn a spot in Sunday's final against eighth-seeded Scot Andy Murray.

Murray booked his spot in the final with a 6-4 6-4 triumph over number 16 Ivo Karlovic earlier Saturday, improving his record against the hard-serving Croat to 3-0.

The 21-year-old Scot is through to his first championship since winning his second title of year at Marseille in February.

This has been a solid stretch for Murray, who reached the semi-finals in Toronto last week following a quarter-final appearance at Wimbledon. Coincidentally, he was eliminated from both of those events by Nadal, who has never lost to Murray in five meetings.

Cincinatti Masters semi-final results:
8-Andy Murray (Great Britain) def. 16-Ivo Karlovic (Croatia) 6-4 6-4
3-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) def. 2-Rafal Nadal (Spain) 6-1 7-5