Wimbledon champion Roger Federer hammered third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 today to reach his first Australian Open final and move to number one in the world rankings.
Second seed Federer will play Russia's Marat Safin after brushing aside French Open winner Ferrero in a surprisingly one-sided match on Rod Laver Arena.
The win ensured Federer the world number one ranking when the new ATP standings are released on Monday.
Federer broke Ferrero's serve to love in the 10th game to claim the first set in 32 minutes. He then broke twice more to race through the second set against Ferrero, who had complained of groin and elbow injuries during the tournament.
The Swiss player, who had never made it past the fourth round in Melbourne before, grabbed another break in the seventh game of the final set and then safely served out the match after one hour and 29 minutes.
Unseeded Safin beat defending champion Andre Agassi in five sets yesterday.