Federer & Nadal in Hamburg final

Federer stretched his winning run in Hamburg to 16 matches

Roger Federer fought back from a set down to beat Carlos Moya and progress to the final of the Hamburg Masters.

Spaniard Moya took the first set 6-4 before the Swiss top seed and world number one found his game to hit back and win the second 6-4.

Federer broke early in the decider and never looked back, taking it 6-2 to reach his fourth final of the season.

He will now play Spain's Rafael Nadal who overcame Lleyton Hewitt to beat the Australian 2-6 6-3 7-5.

Nadal's two-year winning streak on clay was in jeopardy as the 16th seed dominated the first set, breaking twice.

Nadal hit back in the second thanks to an early break and was quickly ahead in the third before Hewitt battled back.

The Spaniard missed a chance to serve for the match at 5-4 and had to save two break points at 6-5 before finally clinching victory when Hewitt failed to put away a simple volley.

It was Nadal's 81st successive victory on clay in a run dating back to April 2005.

He said: "I have been playing some very good tennis in the last week and will be a 100 per cent mentally and physically.

"I don't have pressure tomorrow. If I win or lose tomorrow I will arrive at the French Open with good preparation and the same confidence - the work is done."

My game has a much better feeling to it - I feel my problems are solved Roger Federer

Federer, however, has gone four straight tournaments without a title - his worst run since becoming World No 1 in February 2004.

But he has won three titles in his last four visits to Hamburg and looked both delighted and relieved after his semi-final win.

Federer later admitted that the stress of having to make the decision to part company with coach Tony Roche had been influencing his form.

"I thought a lot whether this is the right decision as he is one of the best coaches on the tour and you don't want to get rid of him just like that," he said.

"I was disappointed I couldn't block that out in Rome (last week) but my confidence is OK now. My game has a much better feeling to it. I feel my problems are solved."

Moya, who was ranked number one in the world in 1999 but has now dropped to 36, has never beaten Federer in seven meetings.