The men's final was delayed until Monday for the first time since 1987, giving Federer plenty of time to rest. He also was going to be able to do some scouting Sunday when his nemesis, new No. 1 Rafael Nadal, was to resume his semifinal against No. 6 Andy Murray. They stopped Saturday with Murray leading 6-2, 7-6 (5), 2-3.

The winner will face a Federer who looked confident and supremely competent against Djokovic in their rematch of the 2007 final.

"I had moments out there where I really felt, 'This is how I normally play on hard court' -- half-volleys, passing shots, good serving, putting the pressure on, playing with the wind, using it to my advantage," said Federer, who produced 20 aces and only one double-fault.

"I definitely had moments during today where I thought, 'This is how I would like to play every time.' So it was a very nice feeling, actually, to get that feeling back."

He dominated the opening set and the last 1½ sets to reach his 13th final in the past 14 Grand Slam tournaments.

The one gap in that span was the Australian Open in January, when Djokovic upset Federer in the semifinals en route to his only major title. Perhaps that gave Federer extra motivation. This was hanging in the balance, too: Had Djokovic won Saturday and gone on to win the championship, he would have surpassed Federer in the rankings, dropping the longtime No. 1 all the way to No. 3.