Roger Federer will face Rafael Nadal for a championship.

On clay. In Spain.

The two rivals set up their first clash since the Australian Open when Nadal saved three match points to beat Novak Djokovic, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9), yesterday.

Playing their fourth match this year, they needed a Masters Series record 4 hours, 3 minutes to decide matters at the Magic Box Tennis Center in Madrid. Federer beat Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3, 6-4, in the other semifinal.

Top-ranked Nadal's 33rd consecutive win on clay lifted him into his seventh final this season, but he will be nursing a right knee injury in the match today.

Federer has lost his past five matches against Nadal, including the finals at the French Open, Wimbledon and Australia, when the Swiss player was in tears after the defeat.

"What's important for me is to get past that semifinal hurdle that I haven't been able to get past in the last couple of months," Federer said ahead of their 16th meeting in a final. "I feel like playing him anywhere is a challenge. The extra flair here is that it's in Spain."

Earlier, top-ranked Dinara Safina beat Patty Schnyder, 6-4, 6-2, to set up a final against teenager Caroline Wozniacki, who put away former No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, 7-6 (1), 6-3.

Barcelona has won the Spanish League title for the first time in the past three years. Barcelona clinched the crown when Real Madrid lost, 3-2, at Villarreal. Barcelona has 86 points with three games left. Madrid has 78 with two to play. This was the 19th title for Barcelona, which completed its first domestic double in 11 years. The team won the Copa del Rey last Wednesday.

• Inter Milan became the first club in more than 50 years to win four consecutive Serie A titles when AC Milan lost to Udinese, 2-1. AC Milan had to win to keep the title race alive, but the loss left it with 71 points, an insurmountable seven behind its city rival with two matches to play. Inter Milan, with a game in hand, hosts Siena today. Inter Milan captured its 17th Serie A title, becoming only the third club in the 111-year history of the competition to win four titles in a row.

• Manchester United won the Premier League for the third consecutive season after a 0-0 tie with Arsenal. United needed a point to clinch a record-equaling 18th title. The draw at Old Trafford put the championship out of reach for second-place Liverpool, which is seven points behind with two games left.

• Second-half goals from Chris Rolfe and Brian McBride kept the Chicago Fire the only unbeaten team in MLS with a 2-0 road win against Toronto FC. The victory ended the Fire's run of five consecutive ties.

• Cody Reinberg's goal gave the Harrisburg City Islanders a 1-0 road win against the Riverhounds.

Former Miami quarterback Robert Marve will choose between a scholarship at Purdue and walking on at Tennessee early next week, his high school coach said. Marve said he would leave Miami at the end of last season after losing the starting job to Jacory Harris.

Oregon sophomore forward Ellie Manou and freshman guard Darriel Gaynor have decided to leave the team. Manou is returning to her native Australia. She averaged 7.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 57 games, including 34 starts. Gaynor averaged 1.3 points and one rebound in 26 games last season as a true freshman.

Rocco Romero scored twice as Cornell beat Princeton, 6-4, at Hempstead, N.Y., to reach the semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the second time in the past three years. Defending national champion Syracuse also advanced, defeating unseeded Maryland, 11-6. Kenny Nims, Stephen Keogh and Dan Hardy scored two goals apiece for the second-seeded Orange (14-2).

Janice Masters threw two touchdown passes to lead the Passion to a 41-0 road win against the New York Nemesis.