Monfils hurries through to final with Nadal

Gael Monfils stands between Rafael Nadal and a ninth Monte Carlo Masters title after the 13th seed thrashed fellow Frenchman Jo Wilfried-Tsonga 6-1 6-3 in Saturday's second semi-final.

Tsonga could have been expected to be high on confidence following his victory over Roger Federer in the previous round, but delivered a woeful performance in the opening set against Monfils, racking up 18 unforced errors.

Things got little better for Tsonga at the start of set two as he fell 4-1 behind and a late rally proved in vain as Monfils, who has not dropped a set in the tournament, reached the third ATP Masters 1000 final of his career.

Monfils becomes the first Frenchman to make the Monte Carlo final since 2000, when Cedric Pioline defeated Slovakia's Dominik Hrbaty, but will undoubtedly start as the underdog against Nadal, who claimed the last of his eight successive titles in Monaco four years ago.

Saturday's match proved surprisingly one-sided until Tsonga won two games to love after falling 4-1 down in the second set.

Those hoping for the match to be extended were swiftly disappointed as Tsonga duly dropped serve for the sixth time in the match, courtesy of a forehand that drifted wide.

And Monfils' place in the final was secured when another Tsonga forehand missed its target to wrap up proceedings in just 69 minutes.