He may be the third seed, but Rafael Nadal is playing like the defending champion at the Western & Southern Open.

The 27-year-old Spanish tennis star, who defeated Roger Federer in the quarterfinals, has notched another victory, defeating sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-5, 7-6 (4) to reach the tournament final for the first time in nine appearances.

“This is one tournament that I’ve never been able to play well, so it’s something special to play well in a place I never did in the past,” said Nadal, 3-0 in his career against John Isner, who he will face in the final. “I’m very happy for that. I am having the right feelings on court. I’m playing aggressive, and the crowd here is great.”

Nadal extended his personal winning streak against Berdych to 14 matches while improving his overall season record 52-3, including a 14-0 on the hardcourts. After winning at Montreal last week, Nadal will be making back-to-back appearances in hardcourt finals for the first time in his career.

He’s 15-1 against top-10 players this season.