Swiss maestro Roger Federer will battle it out with Spaniard David Ferrer at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason in the Cincinnati Masters final tonight.
Federer, who is playing his second ATP final in successive weeks, was impressive in the semifinal against Canadian Milos Raonic and ousted him in straight sets. The former world number one has made a seamless transition from grass to hard court this time and has looked to be in complete control till now.
The third seed lost the Toronto Masters final to Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga but he proved it was a minor blip in his build-up to the US Open, by displaying a dominating performance in Ohio.
"I'm playing much better [than] last year. I can move freely again," Federer pointed out. "I'm happy the results show. It's more fun playing this way. Now I am playing the right away."
"It's great for the confidence to switch from clay to grass to hard courts and keep on playing well. I've had a very complete season so far," he added. "This is my eighth final of the season. I hope I can win another final here."
The 33-year-old is bidding for his sixth title in Mason, and importantly he has never lost a final in the American city in five previous attempts. Federer won the titles in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2012, when he became the oldest player to lift the trophy here.
The 17-time major winner will face Ferrer, who is yet to defeat his Swiss counterpart in 15 meetings. The head-to-head clashes between them are heavily lopsided and it will be a colossal task for the 16th seed to get past the five-time winner here.
Ferrer faced no difficulties in breezing past Julien Benneteau in the semifinal to book his first Masters' final appearance this season. The Spaniard played pretty well, fired 20 aces and converted four break point opportunities.
"Of course I am in a good moment," Ferrer stated. "I am in my first final this year in a Masters 1000, so I'm happy for that. (I take it) step by step and focus for tomorrow."
Ferrer benefitted from world number one Novak Djokovic's early exit and faced relatively easy opponents on his way to the final. He faced little competition en route to the decider and defeated unseeded Mikhail Youzhny, 16th-seed Tommy Robredo and Benneteau.
"I am going step by step," Ferrer stressed. "Tennis is always a surprise. When I looked in my quarter of the draw and saw Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga there, I knew it was not easy.
"But as they lost, I took my chance and got into the final. I am trying to improve my game every day. Watching the top 10 guys is a great inspiration to improve also."
Ferrer recently lost to Federer in the Toronto Masters quarterfinals.
Where to Watch Live
The Cincinnati Masters final between Roger Federer and David Ferrer is scheduled for a 1:30 am IST (4:00 pm ET, 9:00 pm BST and 8:00 pm GMT) start with live coverage on Ten Sports in India. Cincinnati Masters will also be streamed live HERE and HERE or catch the live updates HERE. ESPN 2 will telecast the matches live in the United States, with an online streaming option HERE. In South Africa and sub-Sahara regions, the tournament will be available live on Super Sport with live online viewing option HERE.
