Andy Murray powered into the Shanghai Masters final with an impressive 6-4 6-1 win over Argentine Juan Monaco.
The Briton, 23, will now face Roger Federer in Sunday's final after the Swiss beat Novak Djokovic 7-5 6-4 in the second semi-final.
Murray, seeking only his second title of the season, came through a tight first set against the unseeded Monaco.
But the fourth seed stepped up his play in the second and quickly wrapped up victory after 85 minutes on court.
Murray, who has yet to drop a set in four matches in China, will go into the final full of confidence but knowing he will have to raise his game against the former world number one.
The Scot beat Federer in the final of the last Masters event in Toronto in August, but is seeking to get back to his best after an early loss at the US Open and a quarter-final exit last week in Beijing.
"In each match I've felt better," said Murray. "It's been a couple of tough weeks. This is probably a better result than I expected at the start of the week.
"I think I moved really well today, which to me is very important to my game. I have a feeling on the court if I'm running around, chasing a lot of balls down, I feel good.
"In Beijing, I felt slow and sluggish, out of breath quite quickly, so it's quite a big change.
"I do really enjoy playing Roger. "When I played him in the Toronto final, I was a lot more aggressive and didn't give him many chances to dictate the points, especially on my serve.
"That's something that I need to do against him if I want to beat him."
Third seed Federer admitted he would have to change his tactics in the final, where he is chasing a 64th career title to move into a tie with Pete Sampras for fourth place on the all-time list.
"The conditions are pretty much the same as in Toronto which is going to make for a very tough and physical match," said Federer, whose win over Djokovic will move him above the second-ranked Serb in the world rankings.
"Andy has much more of a feel when he plays with his slice. He finds a way into the point which is very different from Novak. That creates a different type of attacking plan and the way I need to play."
The British number one made his first break of Monaco's serve in the fourth game of their semi-final.
He consolidated that break with an easy hold of his serve and soon found himself serving for the set at 5-3.
However, a loose backhand gave world number 41 Monaco two break points and the Argentine was handed the game when Murray double faulted.
But then it was Monaco's time to throw away the momentum as Murray took advantage of some tentative play from the debutant Masters semi-finalist to take the first set.
The key point occurred when Murray, having broken a string in his racquet, launched a series of desperate defensive lobs from the back of the court with Monaco, having failed to dispatch the first two, smashing the third wildly out.
 Federer will move above Djokovic in the world rankings following his win |
Murray started the second set full of confidence and, playing with great variety, eased into a 3-0 lead before Monaco managed to register a game.
But another break immediately followed before Murray served out to clinch his place in the final after only one hour and 25 minutes on court.
Federer produced a vintage display to avenge his US Open semi-final defeat by the Serb.
The Swiss broke Djokovic three times after fighting off four break points on his own serve early in an enthralling first set which lasted an hour.
He maintained his composure to take the second set and give himself a chance of a third title in Shanghai.
"Roger deserved to win," Djokovic said. "It was a very intense first set and I didn't use the chances that I had. When he got his first or second breakpoint he used it and finished off the set 7-5.
"I lost my focus a little bit and my energy dropped at the start of the second set. In the blink of an eye, I was two breaks down at 4-1 so it was very hard to get back from that situation."
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