Fresh off his US Open victory for a career Grand Slam, the sport’s No. 1 player was undone by Garcia-Lopez’s string of winners and flat, wide serves that included 10 aces.

“It’s a difficult loss to accept,” Nadal said. “It’s one of those matches you are going to lose once every two years.”

Added Garcia-Lopez: “Everything was fantastic. For the moment, I’m a bit shocked.”

On Sunday, Garcia-Lopez will play his second ATP final of the season. He will face 60th-ranked Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who beat Benjamin Becker of Germany 6-3, 6-2.

Nadal was trying to win his seventh tournament of the year. Signs of trouble emerged in the second set when Garcia-Lopez started dictating important shots. At one stage, he whipped a groundstroke deep to the Spaniard’s backhand and forced him to throw his racket in an unsuccessful attempt to reach the ball.

“He played a great match, especially in the third,” Nadal said. “I had a great chance to be in the final. I have to blame myself that I didn’t play aggressive when I had a chance to break. He served well on break points. I lost chance after chance.”

Nadal was playing his first tournament since winning the US Open and becoming the seventh man to complete a career Grand Slam. He is to play next at the Shanghai Masters, beginning Oct. 10.

Garcia-Lopez rode his momentum through the third set, applying pressure and forcing errors by Nadal, who converted only two of 26 break-point opportunities.

“I’ve never beaten a No. 1 player in the world,” Garcia-Lopez said. “I think this is the best victory in my career.”

Nieminen reached his first final of the year with sharp groundstrokes and an accurate first serve.

“I feel great,” Nieminen said. “I haven’t been in a final for a while, the last time was in Sydney 2009.”

The Finn has not dropped a set in his run to the final, including wins over No. 7-seeded Viktor Troicki in the second round and No. 3-seeded Jurgen Melzer in the quarterfinals.
 

In Kuala Lumpur, fourth seed and US Open semifinalist Mikhail Youzhny won an all-Russian tie at the Malaysian Open Saturday, reaching the Asian ATP final with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-2 win over compatriot Igor Andreev.

The winner of one trophy this season, in Munich, Youzhny will Sunday meet eighth-seeded Kazak Andrey Golubev, who beat No. 5 Spaniard David Ferrer 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) in their semifinal.

Youzhny defeated Andreev, a qualifier who once reached the Top 20, in just over 90 minutes.

"It was a tough match," said Youzhny, who reached his fourth final of 2010.

"He played really well in the first set, but since he's coming back from injuries, his level dropped in the second and I was able to go through.

"I'm not thinking about another title, I just want to keep my level the way it is now." Youzhny now stands 3-1 against Andreev, whose last ATP title came five years ago.

World No. 9 Youzhny is fighting to qualify for the eight-man season-ending event in London from Nov. 21. He lost to Rafael Nadal in the US Open semis a month ago.

Youzhny broke Andreev five times to earn his 38th win of the season against 15 losses. His only title so far came on clay in Munich last May.

Youzhny will be playing for a trophy after losing back-to-back finals in February against Sweden's Robin Soderling (Rotterdam) and Serbia's Novak Djokovic (Dubai).

Andreev, now ranked 102, was appearing in only his second semifinal of 2010 after his last at this level in Brazil in February. He has not reached a final since 2008.

Golubev needed just under two hours to eliminate Ferrer, who beat him on clay last spring in Monte Carlo.