Richard Gasquet was so tired he couldn't think.
The 18-year-old Frenchman, coming off the biggest win of his career, blew a one-set lead and wasted five break points in the final set before losing to fellow teenager Rafael Nadal 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-3 Saturday in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters.
"I had the game won at 7-6, 2-0 but physically, I couldn't give any more," Gasquet said. "I'm not saying that I would have won, because Nadal's a great player. But had I been physically fresh I would have had a better chance."
Nadal will face defending champion Guillermo Coria in today's final. Coria beat two-time champion Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-2, 7-5 to reach his first ATP final of the year.
Gasquet, who is just 15 days younger than Nadal, needed more than two hours to upset top-ranked Roger Federer in Friday's quarterfinals. His third-round victory over Nikolay Davydenko also went three sets.
But Gasquet could not finish off Nadal like he did his previous opponents.
Former No. 1 Justine Henin-Hardenne reached the final in just her second event since returning from illness and injury, beating Tatiana Golovin 7-6 (4), 7-5.
Henin-Hardenne spent most of last year ranked No. 1 but after last year's US Open suffered a viral illness and then a knee injury. She is ranked No. 43 and was unseeded going into this tournament.
Henin-Hardenne advances to the championship match against second-seeded Elena Dementieva, who beat No. 8 Patty Schnyder 3-6, 6-4, 6-0.
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