Rafael Nadal is guaranteed to supplant Novak Djokovic atop the tennis world rankings after advancing to the final of the China Open.
Tomas Berdych retired with an injury in the semifinal. The Spaniard was up 4-2 in the opening set.
Nadal, who improved to 27-0 on hard courts this season, will return to the top ranking for the first time since July 2011. Djokovic has been No1 for 101 weeks.
Djokovic plays Richard Gasquet in the other semifinal this morning.
In the women's semifinals, top-ranked Serena Williams will play Agnieszka Radwanska and Petra Kvitova meets Jelena Jankovic.
