Roger Federer was at his brilliant best as he dominated second-ranked Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1 today to advance to the Masters Cup final. Top-ranked Swiss star will face No 6 David Ferrer, who used sparkling defence to down No 5 Andy Roddick 6-1, 6-3.Defending champion Federer matched Nadal shot for shot, then kicked into high gear while serving at 4-4 in the first set. Nadal pulled ahead 15-30, then Federer ran off 20 of the next 21 points, including 15 in a row in an 11-minute span.Looking stunned, Nadal managed to win only three points in the first five games of the second set. He finally held at love to break Federer’s streak of seven games.Serving at 5-1, Federer hit an overhead winner to set up match point, and Nadal netted a backhand to finish it off in 59 minutes. It was a disappointing end for the vocal section of flag-waving Spanish fans who were dressed in their red-and-gold national colours and chanted to a trumpet, bongo drum and cymbals as Ferrer beat Roddick, the clear fan favourite in the packed but chilly 15,000-seat arena. Ferrer, who now has dropped only one set in four matches, was fresh, confident and sharp from the start, while Roddick seemed to be showing the effects of the short 20-hour turnaround from his loss to Federer the night before. “Today I played very good,” Ferrer said. “Now I want to enjoy this moment.” After Roddick held serve to start the match, Ferrer ran off six games in a row, with Roddick never managing a game point. Roddick’s serve lost some of its usual zing, and he got a massage on his lower back after getting broken for the second time to trail 4-1. He won only 11 of his 26 service points in the first set.“It was really stiff. My range of motion was really bad,” Roddick said. “Normally you’re able to work your way into a match a little bit. With David, he comes out, makes balls right away.
