Roger Federer asserted his dominance of men's tennis by beating world number two Rafael Nadal 6-4, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final of the Masters Cup for the fourth year in a row.

The 25-year-old Swiss produced an imperious performance to get past the fired-up Spaniard and will play either Argentine David Nalbandian, who beat him to win the title last year, or American James Blake on Sunday.

Nadal, who handed Federer four of his five defeats this year, put everything he had into the match but was always chasing the world number one after being broken in his first service game.

Federer wrapped up the contest with a sublime crosscourt winner on his third match point after just under two hours to extend his winning streak to 28 games.