Roger Federer put world number two Rafael Nadal in his place by beating the Spaniard 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to set up a Masters Cup final against American James Blake.
Blake was the last man to qualify for the tournament but needed only 76 minutes to thrash Argentina's defending champion David Nalbandian 6-4, 6-1 and reach the final in his first appearance at the $4.45-million event in Shanghai.
Federer, champion in 2003 and 2004 and losing finalist last year, will be playing his fourth Masters Cup final in a row after producing some majestic tennis to get past the man responsible for four of his five defeats in 2006.
"It was an excellent match with high quality," said Federer, who extended his winning streak to 28 matches.
"I'm happy I came through because these are the matches I'm waiting for, to beat the best after me. So to beat him in the last one of the season is obviously fantastic for me.
"I definitely feel like I've learned a few things and maybe now it's a little more up to him to change his game."
Nadal, who had lost to Federer in their most recent meeting in the Wimbledon final, put everything he had into the match but was always chasing the world number one after being broken in his first service game.
"I'm happy with my game and my tournament," said the 20-year-old Spaniard. "He started unbelievable...[but] I was not so far away from him today."
GOOD FEELING
The 25-year-old Swiss wrapped up the contest with a sublime running crosscourt winner from the tightest of angles on his third match point after one hour 53 minutes.
Federer was delighted at the shot which defeated the man who denied him a Grand Slam in the French Open final, and his normally cool demeanour deserted him as he fell to his knees before punching the air in celebration.
"It was a good feeling," he said. "And usually I have that after finals. I rarely finish off matches like this, so it was nice."
The Swiss, who has a 5-0 record against Blake, becomes the first man to reach four successive Masters Cup finals since Ivan Lendl reached nine in a row in the 1980s.
Federer started in intimidating style with three aces in his first service game and had a 3-0 lead and a break point in game four before Nadal could get his act together.
The muscular lefthander broke back when Federer's serve fell apart at 5-3 but the Australian, Wimbledon and US Open champion went a set up in the next game when Nadal netted under pressure on three straight points after some lengthy rallies.
The second set was all Federer and he had two match points at 5-4 before claiming his third victory in nine matches against Nadal two games later.
