Even with one brief lapse, Roger Federer needed only 59 minutes to beat David Ferrer 6-1, 6-4 and reach the NASDAQ-100 Open final on Friday.
"I didn't give him much chance," Federer said. "I'm playing so well this week, it was tough for him from the start."
The result was hardly a surprise: Federer has advanced to the final in his past 11 tournaments, the longest such men's streak since John McEnroe made 12 consecutive finals in 1984.
Federer will bid for his second successive Key Biscayne title on Sunday against sixth-seeded Ivan Ljubicic, a Croat who advanced to his first final in the US by beating No. 3 David Nalbandian 6-1, 6-2.
Federer has won his past six meetings against Ljubicic, although three times they split sets. Overall Federer leads 9-3.
"Every time when I have to play against him, it's like, `OK, maybe this is the one,'" Ljubicic said. "But it's never happening. A couple of times I was very close. I really just hope to be at least close on Sunday."
Ljubicic is the first Croat to reach the men's final since Goran Ivanisevic in 1996. Ivanisevic woke up with a stiff neck the morning of his final and was forced to retire against Andre Agassi.
"He told me yesterday, `If you win [in the semifinals], be careful with your neck,'" Ljubicic said. "He said, `Sleep on the same pillow and don't open the windows.'"
The women's final on today will be an all-Russian matchup between No. 4 seed Maria Sharapova and No. 12 Svetlana Kuznetsova, each bidding for her first Key Biscayne title.
Ferrer was coming off a win over Andy Roddick in the quarterfinals, but Federer quickly cooled him off, taking the opening set in 18 minutes. A flurry of errors, including two sloppy volleys, then put Federer in a 3-0 hole to start the second set.
The lapse didn't last long.
"I played very aggressive in the beginning, but obviously it's not so easy to do that on a consistent basis," Federer said. "Once I was down 3-love, I chose to play with a lower risk and sort of make him play a few shots."
Federer rallied to win the next five games with a typically vast array of winners, including a crosscourt backhand that almost sent Ferrer spinning into the concrete like a corkscrew in pursuit.
"That's why he's No. 1 in the world," Ferrer said. Federer improved his match record to 27-1 this year and extended his record winning streak in the ATP Masters Series to 23 matches.
Ljubicic was nearly as dominant in his semifinal win. Bidding for his first Masters Series title at age 27, he lost only five points on his serve.
"Almost perfect," Nalbandian said. "When he plays like this, it's very tough."
Ljubicic hit 12 aces and faced no break points. The 1.93m Croat won 24 of 25 points with his first serve, making him 60-for-62 in the past two rounds. He closed with a 226kph ace, his fastest serve of the day.
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