Nadal, Soderling to meet in final

PARIS - All Rafael Nadal cares about is winning a fifth French Open championship.

It doesn't matter how he has played until now.

It doesn't matter that he can regain the No. 1 ranking with one more victory.

And, the Spaniard insists, it certainly doesn't matter to him one bit that in Sunday's final, he gets a chance to face the only man to whom he has lost at Roland Garros: Sweden's Robin Soderling.

"I never believe [in] revenge," Nadal said after he and Soderling won their semifinals Friday. "I will be as happy or as disappointed if I lose to Robin or to any other player. I don't think this is going to change the way I'll approach the match."

Perhaps that's true. Still, there's one key statistic that won't go away: Nadal boasts a 37-1 career record in the French Open, with Soderling responsible for the lone setback, having upset the four-time champion in the fourth round a year ago en route to a runner-up finish.

"It's always good to have beaten a player before. I know that I can beat him. I showed it," said Soderling, who knocked off defending champion Roger Federer in the quarterfinals Tuesday. "But, again, every match is a new match, and every match is different."

Friday's two semifinals hardly could have contrasted more.

First came the No. 5-seeded Soderling's grueling, serve-it-and-slug-it victory over No. 15 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, a 6-3, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 test that required 31/2 hours. Then came the No. 2-seeded Nadal's far-less-competitive 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (6) win over No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria.