Roger Federer moved within one victory of his fifth consecutive US Open title today, firing 20 aces to overpower Serbian third seed Novak Djokovic 6-3 5-7 7-5 6-2.
But the Swiss superstar will have to wait until Monday (Tuesday AEST) to try and capture his 13th grand slam title and move within one of the all-time record total of Pete Sampras.
In a rematch of last year's final, second seed Federer stretched his US Open win streak to 33 matches but rain stopped the other semi-final between world No.1 Rafael Nadal and British sixth seed Andy Murray.
The 21-year-old Scotsman led 6-2 7-6 (7-5) 2-3 when his first slam semi-final was halted until tomorrow afternoon, pushing the men's final to Monday afternoon, the first time since 1987 that the grand slam event will end late.
"Winning here at the Open would mean a hell of a lot to me," Federer said.
"At the moment the focus is to defend my title and get my fifth. The Pete thing is very much alive and everything is possible, but I would like to focus on the five in a row right now."
By reaching his 17th slam final, Federer matched Rod Laver for third on the all-time list, one behind Sampras and two shy of Ivan Lendl's record.
Federer is trying to become the first man to win two slam events five times in a row, having turned the trick last year at Wimbledon, and would be the first man since Bill Tilden in 1924 to win the US title five times in a row.
Australian Open champion Djokovic, 21, would have replaced Federer, 27, as world No.2 had he won the US Open.
"He was playing good. He deserved to win," Djokovic said. "I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to give him a challenge. I was just unlucky to lose that third set and it was more or less routine for him in the fourth."
